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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24090775">Ramwrites Prompts</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/RamWrites/pseuds/RamWrites'>RamWrites</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hunter X Hunter, ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 | JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Poly, Reader-Insert, Yandere</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 22:33:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>22,660</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24090775</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/RamWrites/pseuds/RamWrites</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of works from my Tumblr that I personally think definitely slap.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>110</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Poly! Hisoka x Reader x Chrollo</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Killer Zed has failed to show up to the fight, meaning Y/n wins by default!”</p><p>The entire crowd booed, many immediately standing up to leave. Some threw some stuff to the podium, voicing their displeasure. You yourself weren’t all that happy yourself, having kind of looked forward to fighting the nen-user Killer Zed. His nen did something cool with fire, which you had been very interested in. As you turned around to leave the arena, you wondered how many spectators would show up next time.</p><p>Considering this was the third no-show who had face you.</p><p>The first one had been a surprise, as you wouldn’t have thought your opponent a coward. When the streak of no-shows continued, you started suspecting foul play.</p><p>It wasn’t hard to think of who could possibly be involved.</p><p>And speaking of the devil, there stood Hisoka, waiting for you in the hall. Keeping himself busy building a card tower, he locked his eyes with yours, a teasing smile on his face. </p><p>Huffing indignantly, you retreated to the waiting room. Marching through the hall, you completely ignored Hisoka, walking past him without so much as a glance. </p><p>“So cold, Y/n.” He said when you were past him, the clicking of his heels indicative that he’d stood up. “If I didn’t know any better, I would say you were angry at me.”</p><p>You could feel a blood vessel burst with anger, but you walked on, not even remotely interested in his antics now. You would calm down, have a drink and then ask them why the fuck they were sabotaging your fights. The look on Hisoka’s face had confirmed it to you, the self-satisfied and clingy expression enough evidence for you.</p><p>If you turned around now, nerves still high through the anticipation of a fight, you weren’t sure if you could keep yourself from punching him. A fight, of course, would lead to all kinds of trouble, as you were sure he would involve Chrollo as soon as possible. He seemed to thrive in putting you in those kinds of situations.</p><p>Or worse, you would give in as soon as he’d flash that confident smile, dropping the entire subject as soon as he’d tuck some hair behind your ear. They truly had that effect on you.</p><p>Not today.</p><p>“I would say so too.” You bit back, opening and slamming the door to the waiting room. </p><p>Taking your bag from the locker, you immediately left Heavens Arena, not able to stand the place at the moment. Everything just reminded you of their presence, the knowledge that they were always keeping an eye on you etched into your mind.</p><p>After that fateful moment in the bathroom, it had only worsened, barely giving you any privacy. You had snapped and cussed them out, which they both only seemed to find amusing. When you had left Heavens Arena and slept at a friend for a while, they seemed to find it less amusing.</p><p>Your phone had been bombarded with calls, and you had only picked up once when you had deemed them desperate enough. Despite all of it, you still kind of liked them, having never been really romantically coveted in any manner. Most men didn’t like a girl that could benchpress them, after all.</p><p>They had offered you a deal, you would stay at Heavens Arena with them, and they wouldn’t interfere as much in your life. Chrollo had been the one to call, his voice as well-composed as ever, though the unspoken desperation was evident in your call history. You were kind of surprised, having mildly suspected them to track you by your phone and drag you back.</p><p>This was kind of… romantic, actually.</p><p>And so you had returned, back to your lovely big apartment with all the cameras still installed. Your return had been so excessively celebrated, you faced slight trouble walking the next morning. Hisoka and Chrollo had both stayed the entire day, doting lovingly on you. </p><p>That was nice.</p><p>But sabotaging your fights wasn’t part of the deal, that was interfering in the purest sense of the word. You weren’t immensely mad, but you knew things would worsen if you didn’t nip it in the bud. </p><p>And so you sat on a terrace now, enjoying the sun with some iced tea, trying to will away your emotions so you could calmly and maturely confront them. </p><p>It wasn’t busy, despite the lovely weather. The location was a bit unfortunate for the cafe, a bit too far out for the regular tourist. Heavens Arena was close though and they served nice drinks, so you were a regular customer. </p><p>A while before you planned to leave you noticed something. As it turned out, you didn’t need to confront them at all, as they took it entirely up to themselves. Halfway done with your iced tea, you saw their forms approaching casually from the distance. Watching with casual eyes, you sighed.</p><p>There they were.</p><p>They were always terribly busy, yet whenever you didn’t want to see them, they suddenly found a spot in their schedule, meeting up immediately to bother you. </p><p>It was only a matter of time before they sat across from you, Hisoka immediately leaning his elbows on the table, as dramatically as you’d expect from him. Chrollo merely sat down, an inquisitive glance in his dark grey eyes.</p><p>“So why have you two been sabotaging my fights.” You started, unable to keep the slight anger out of your voice, setting your iced tea down on the table.</p><p>“No time for an idle chat?” Hisoka replied in a light-hearted tone, narrowing his eyes at you challengingly. “I do so love listening to you speak.”</p><p>You frowned, crossing your arms. </p><p>“It seems she isn’t in the mood, Hisoka,” Chrollo said. “But to answer your question, we don’t have anything to do with that.” </p><p>“Bullshit.” You said, slamming your fist on the table, a bit too loud as you received a sharp look from the waitress. You quieted down considerably. “Don’t lie to me.”</p><p>“I am insulted, Y/n.” Hisoka purred, not a shred of actual anger in his voice. Looking at him, he instead seemed delighted. “Accusing us so easily. Don’t you trust us at least a little bit?”</p><p>Your frown increased, now slightly confused. It was true your accusation was based on a hunch, but you were so sure. Chrollo’s hand slipped over the table, holding yours. You didn’t pull away.</p><p>“We weren’t involved, I can promise you that.”</p><p>His voice sounded determined and convincing, though you knew he was a great liar, bringing you back to square one. The affection he showed and the intensely loving eyes they both shot at you made you flustered, your ability to think clearly rapidly decreasing.</p><p>They were just so overwhelmingly loving to you, making you way too forgiving of anything they did. Any time you were really mad at them, they just made it up completely, showering you in more gifts and attention than you’d ever even dreamed of. You knew you shouldn’t, you really shouldn’t, but you felt anger seeping out of you, replaced by the emotions of an overwhelmed girl with a crush.</p><p>It was a lost battle from the start.</p><p>“Ah, well, I guess I’m sorry then.” Your eyes averting to hide your flustered expression, though you knew they both saw through you. This really wasn’t your point of expertise, fighting coming much more natural to you than any emotional and romantical subjects.</p><p>“Apology accepted, Y/n.” Chrollo mused, his hand still softly holding yours, a gentle smile gracing his lips, making your heartbeat increase slightly.</p><p>Hisoka suddenly perked up, a mischievous expression forming on his features.</p><p>“If you still feel the need to fight, however,” He suddenly stated, an excited air forming around him, which was never a good sign. “I am sure we can accommodate.”</p><p>“There is no need for others to touch you, after all.” Chrollo agreed.</p><p>You regretted apologizing already.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Ghosted - Phinks</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You wouldn’t call your morale compass immaculate.</p><p>If your best friend called you up now, telling you they’d committed a crime, you were quite sure you’d swallow your objections down and help them out, barring certain crimes of course. You’d considered plenty of situations: self-defense, murder, theft or whatever. You didn’t think it would ever be relevant to discuss whether or not you’d accept genocide, mass murder and the theft of billions of jennies in the same breath.</p><p>The answer was a hard no.</p><p>So when your boyfriend had come clean to you about his ‘occupation’, proving your disbelief wrong by showing you exactly what he could do, you’d nodded sagely and excused yourself as quickly as possible. Phinks had looked a bit dejected, disappointed even, at your outright disgusted response. ‘<em>Babe, please’</em> He’d said, wrapping his arms around your neck as he’d done millions of times before. ‘<em>You can’t just leave me, you love me.’</em></p><p>Not,<em> ‘you can’t leave me because I love you’ </em>but<em> ‘You can’t leave me because you love me’.</em></p><p>It had taken you about three minutes to block his number on every possible device and skip town. The first minute was spend googling what the ‘phantom troupe’ had really done, the second was spent blocking him, the third stepping into your car and bouncing.</p><p>The entire process wasn’t done as cleanly as you’d made it sound in your head, the blocking and skipping town part being accompanied by many tears and breakdowns. You’d loved Phinks, but you couldn’t love someone who, according to google, <em>had stabbed people in front of their family in order to harvest their red eyes</em>.</p><p>You’d moved back to your hometown, some old college friends arranging a dinky apartment for you to get your bearings. It felt weird to skip town like this, but it wasn’t like you had much back home anyway. He’d been the reason you’d moved there in the first place, and now he was the reason you’d left.</p><p>Most days were spent doing freelancer work in-doors, your nerves high-strung enough to keep you inside on most days. When you’d left him that night, not saying anything but ‘see you later’, he’d told you he’d find you if you left. The sentence rang through your mind every night, though the anxiety started to get less with every passing day.</p><p>And so you sat, typing behind your laptop, doing some easy translating job you’d be paid scratch for. It wasn’t much, but together with your savings, you managed, though that wouldn’t be for long. The tea next to you had grown cold hours ago, but you still took occasional sips, not really feeling getting up to grab something else to drink.</p><p>It was late though, the sun having set hours ago and the clock on your laptop screaming at you to go to bed, tomorrow already wasted if you didn’t do so now.</p><p>Stretching, you stood up, taking the cup with you and pressing the laptop closed. You hadn’t done as much work as you’d planned, but it was hard to focus when you were stuck inside nearly all day, grocery trips being the only respite of the monotony your anxiety forced you in.</p><p>Closing the door to your room behind you, you turned the corner, only to halt in your steps at the sound of your fridge opening. Taking tentative steps forward, you could nearly faint when a familiar green tracksuit came into view, the tall blonde rummaging through your fridge for food that wasn’t there.</p><p>“When’s the last time you ate something proper?” He tossed out some left-over Chinese food you’d been keeping there. “There’s only shit in here.”</p><p>You put down the cup on the counter, the silence deafening as you tried to think of anything to say.</p><p>“Come on, I asked you something.” He waved his hand in your direction, motioning for you to hurry up in replying.</p><p>“I-I don’t cook that much.” You admitted, your eyes focused on the blonde staring angrily at the inside of your poorly lit fridge. The kitchen in your apartment was far too small for any real cooking, and the motivation to really make something out of your food turned nihil when it was just you. He nodded and looked side-ways at you, immediately making you shrink under his gaze, his glare harsher than you were used to.</p><p>“And when’s the last time you went outside?” You couldn’t blame his assessment, the bags under your eyes and the rather disheveled state you were in probably not screaming top health. “What’s the use in leaving if you can’t even take care of yourself?”</p><p>“I can take care of myself.” You bit back, finally stepping over your initial fear a bit. “Look, I don’t know what you want here, but please leave me alone.”</p><p>“What I want here? Are you an absolute idiot?” He yelled, slamming the fridge door closed hard enough to make you flinch. “You really fucking leave me and then act like you don’t know what I’m doing here?”</p><p>“Well excuse me for not texting you after you tell me you… literally murder people? How did you expect me to react?” You angrily shot back, though taking an instinctive step back as he took one forward.</p><p>“I <em>expected</em>-“ His hand gripped the kitchen top, denting it in far enough for you to take another step back, the loud bursting noise echoing through the small apartment. “-for you to be a bit less suicidal, you bitch. Who the fuck sees someone tear a tree in half and then leaves without a word? Did you think I wouldn’t come to find you?”</p><p>“I had hoped you would understand why I left.” Your back reached the wall. He scowled at your reply and slowly released the kitchen top, walking casually past you to your room. Waiting a few seconds, you slowly trailed behind, wanting to see what he was doing.</p><p>He started laughing as he opened your door, liking what he saw apparently, his shit-eating grin even visible from where you were standing.</p><p>“Hey! Y/n, bring that red travel case here.” It was silent for a few moments, the soft drizzle of rain outside the only noise. “If I have to grab it, I’ll break your arm.”</p><p>Not wanting to test that threat, you immediately walked toward a small side-room in which you kept things like that. Pushing the vacuum aside, you pulled out the red trunk he was talking about, a bit peeved he even remembered the thing. Dragging it to your bedroom, you put it in the doorway, your eyes furrowed as you took in the mess he’d already made.</p><p>“Look at this, y/n.” The blonde chuckled, holding up an empty bottle of water that had stood next to your bed. “Trash, even in your bedroom? Did you remember to breathe while I was away?”</p><p>That was nitpicking, and he knew it, but as his eyes scanned over the arguably messy room, you could just see the idea forming in his mind. Every misplaced item, every skewed book, they were all signs that you just couldn’t function by yourself. You didn’t dare speak up.</p><p>“You can’t even fucking take care of yourself, y/n. How pathetic can you be.” Phinks interrupted as he continued to shovel your belongings in the case, taking your clothes and other bare essentials. You stood in the doorway, clutching your hand, watching with mild panic as he went through all your things. “Good to know you’d be fucking <em>lost</em> without me, babe.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Naga! Uvo</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>To be honest, you were beginning to get a bit scared,</p><p>The fog made it hard to make out where you were, and even when you thought you recognized something, when you walked towards it you suddenly kept losing sight of it. At one point you thought you saw a familiar signpost, but the names on it weren’t at all familiar to you. Your phone had died a while ago, and to be honest, you had no idea where you were.</p><p>With the coming of the digital age, you weren’t as accustomed to getting lost anymore, and with the gloomy weather, your nerves were being tested.</p><p>You had been walking for quite some time, your hands pressed tightly into your pockets to save them from the draft, and it didn’t seem as if you would reach your destination soon.</p><p>The path home was quite easy, just a short trip through the forest. Every few meters there were signposts and you never had to make any weird turns, so you never had problems navigating before. You had to walk here every day, after all. Today, however, a fog so thick you could barely see your own hands had set up, and despite never shifting course, you got lost amidst the brambles of the forest.</p><p>It felt unsafe to keep walking, the shifting landscape and uneven ground beneath would make you fall down within no-time. On the other hand, standing still also didn’t seem like a good option, no one could see you like this and it would be hours before the fog would subside enough for you to walk normally.</p><p>Very tentatively stepping forward, you moved. There had to be an edge to either the fog or the forest, and maybe if you came across someone else you could ask them to help you. Standing still wouldn’t amount to anything, and waiting hours in this damp darkness was something you wished to avoid.</p><p>After a few minutes of very slow movement and your heart beating in your throat, you suddenly noticed a faint light in the distance.</p><p>You started walking towards it, a bit more enthusiastically than before, nearly running into a tree a few times. You tried calling out to the light, hoping it might be another person, but the light seemed to be to stationary to be a flashlight or something like that. Coming closer and closer, the light got brighter, revealing itself to be a window of a cabin.</p><p>A cabin!</p><p>Praising the gods, you approached the cabin, the light indicating someone was there. If they would let you wait out the fog or give you directions toward home, you’d be set! If they let you wait out the fog, you could even charge your phone if the cabin had electricity. The possibilities flooded your mind, relief coursing through your system as you neared the door.</p><p>Knocking on the large wooden door, you noticed some odd things about the building. While the style wasn’t out of place, the height of the cabin was a bit peculiar. It didn’t seem to have a second story, yet the walls seemed oddly high. Even the door seemed significantly bigger than the ones you were used to.</p><p>You heard some noise inside, and you waited with bated breath as the noise came closer and closer to the door. Again you noted something odd, as the noise coming toward the door didn’t sound anything like footsteps. It sounded heavy though. It didn’t matter though, the only thing concerning you at this moment being getting home safely.</p><p>The door opened and any words you had ready died in your mouth.</p><p>Your eyes had to move up as soon as he opened the door, his impressive frame taking up nearly the entire doorway. With wild brown hair nearly reaching his mid-back and sideburns adorning the sides of his face, he curiously looked down at you. Wearing a white sleeveless shirt, the size of his muscles didn’t escape you, though that wasn’t even the most noticeable thing about the enormous man before you.</p><p>That would be the large snake-like tail he seemed to have instead of legs.</p><p>You hadn’t ever seen a naga before in real life, their kind often being very reclusive and secretive. They were pretty rare and left alone by nearly every country. You could faintly recall your teachers lecturing on the importance of steering clear of naga’s, their customs and ways not suitable for humans. There had been a rumor that one had been living in this forest, but you’d never even considered it to be a possibility.</p><p>But looking at his red-colored tail, you were forced to re-assess that thought.</p><p>Swallowing your surprise, you forced your eyes back up at his.</p><p>“I’m sorry for bothering you, sir, I got lost in the fog.” Remembering your manners, you stopped staring as soon as you were able to form a coherent thought, it wasn’t polite to stare after all. “Could you point me the way to the main path?”</p><p>A cold draft hit your back, making you shiver. Despite only wearing a sleeveless shirt, the naga man didn’t seem to be the slightest bit bothered, not even flinching from the cold.</p><p>“Sending you out with this fog? You’ll get lost in no time.” He stated, his voice a bit incredulous. Holding out the door further open, he leaned a bit to the side, creating a narrow way for you to go inside. “You can wait inside for it to blow over.”</p><p>Your teachings rang through your head, but despite his enormous frame and snake tail, he talked and seemed quite normal. He wasn’t human, but he wasn’t living in a cave or something. In the end, you weren’t one to discriminate by appearances, and the heat emanating from inside was a bit too tempting for you to refuse. It wasn’t like you could go back into the fog like this.</p><p>“Oh! That would be very kind, thank you.” Squeezing past him, you turned around to await instructions. He closed the door and turned to face you, his eyes again taking you in. It felt uncomfortable being looked at like that but considering you had just probably done the same when the door opened, you couldn’t complain.</p><p>“You can put your coat on that chair and warm yourself by the fire.” He eventually said, motioning to a nearby chair that already had some clothes on it. Eager to get out of the wet clothes, you unwrapped your scarf and took off your coat, placing them on the chair. He moved behind you while you were doing this, a shiver going up your spine as you felt him move past you, his chest grazing against your back. “I’ll make you some tea.”</p><p>It took a while for his entire tail to pass you, and you waited till he was completely past you before you turned around to look at your surroundings.</p><p>The furniture in the cabin was all bigger than their normal counterparts, the couch long enough to probably fit him and half of his tail on it. The only things that seemed to be normal-sized were electronics like the television you saw in one corner and the landline hanging on one of the walls. The walls were pretty bare, and there were but few personal belongings scattered about aside from some clothes and furs.</p><p>On the left side of the cabin stood a well-sized fireplace, burning away and banishing the outside cold. Hearing the large naga busying himself in the kitchen, you sat on the completely oversized couch, as close to the fire as you could. The waves of heat warmed your frozen hands, and feeling began returning to your fingers.</p><p>You tried scanning the cabin further, though trying to look outside the windows was useless. The outside view was completely obscured by the fog, even the closest trees barely visible through the white veil.</p><p>Though the opportunity to heat up was amazing, the fact that you were in the home of a naga still filled you with incredibility. Besides some interviews and scarce research, you hadn’t ever heard of someone visiting a naga’s place casually, so you had no idea what you were supposed to do. So far, just acting as if he was human had worked, so maybe that was the way to go.</p><p>Hearing some new noise, you retreated your fingers from the proximity of the fire, turning your gaze toward the kitchen where the naga had gone. Holding a rather large cup, he moved toward you, setting it in front of you. As you were sitting on one end of the couch, he moved to the other end, taking up most of the couch.</p><p>“Thank you.”  You said, a heartfelt smile sent his way. Your doubts and fears aside, he had let you into his home, saving you from possible hours in the cold, dark fog.</p><p>As if you said something funny he started grinning and leaned back into the couch.</p><p>“Don’t mention it.” He added.</p><p>The sight of his grin made your breath hitch for a second, but you composed yourself and grabbed the cup in front of you, appreciating the warmth. His grin had thrown you off guard for a second, the sharp canines flashing through his smile inciting an instinctual response of fear. He seemed to be well-humored though, so you forced your small smile back on your face,</p><p>Thinking of something to say, you looked into the swirly tea in the cup.</p><p>“Ah, I didn’t even introduce myself.” You suddenly remembered, straightening your back and turning towards him. You held out your hand, holding the cup with the other. “I’m y/n. Nice to meet you.”</p><p>For a second, the naga’s eyes widened, a confused expression taking over his features. You wondered if you had insulted him or did something wrong, but he broke out in laughter mere moments later. He had a boisterous laugh, nearly shaking the furniture. Before you could respond, he had taken your hand in his, shaking it.</p><p>His hand enveloped yours completely, dwarfing you completely. He held a tight grip, letting go after a few shakes.</p><p>“I’m Uvogin.” He replied eventually, an amused grin still on his face. “You really don’t know anything about naga’s, do you?”</p><p>An embarrassed blush took over your features, looking away to avoid his teasing eyes. Holding the cup again in both of your hands, you looked at the cup, a bit bashful.</p><p>“It’s that obvious?” You said nervously. “I’m sorry if I did something wrong.”</p><p>Waving away your words, you saw his tail slither closer to you, the tip flicking against your feet. “Nah, don’t worry about it. It’s <em>cute</em>.”</p><p>His choice of words didn’t lessen your embarrassment, and to drown out your own thoughts, you took a sip of the tea. The warm liquid felt heavenly and tasted good to match. It was a sweet tea with a slightly bitter aftertaste, which clashed slightly. It didn’t matter to you however, the hot drink warming you completely up inside.</p><p>Hoping to change the course of the conversation, you tried asking him some things, hoping he would just talk about himself, sating both your curiosity and making sure you wouldn’t do anything stupid again.</p><p>“H-have you lived here long?” The question came out a bit awkwardly, still not having recovered from his laughter.</p><p>Uvogin leaned against his elbow on the headrest. “Long enough.”</p><p>That was not really something you could work with, and in your current state you didn’t feel capable of completely carry a conversation. Instead, you drank a bit more of the tea, putting down the cup when you finished it. Uvogin didn’t say anything while you were drinking and for all you knew he was just like you thinking of what to say.</p><p>You couldn’t have seen the way his breath quickened when you drank the tea, nor could you have noticed how his tail moved closer ever so slightly whenever you looked away, his eyes hungrily going over you.</p><p>“Is someone waiting for you at home?”</p><p>His question snapped you out of a daze, your eyes focusing back on him. His eyes bore into you, the teasing glint in his eyes nowhere to be seen. His grin had also gone, a serious and intense expression replacing it. You swallowed, fumbling with your sleeves.</p><p>“Yes, my boyfriend is waiting for me.”</p><p>You didn’t know why you lied, but something about the atmosphere made you reconsider telling him the truth. The way his eyes bore into you had made you instinctively lie, feeling something was amiss. It wasn’t just his expression, but as time ticked on, you felt your legs grow heavier. At first you’d assumed it was due to the hours of walking outside, but when you tried to lift your legs and failed, you began to suspect something was really, really wrong.</p><p>Blinking became slower, your movements becoming slow and labored.</p><p>Uvogin seemed to notice as well as he leaned forward, closing the distance within moments, grabbing both of your arms. Your head snapped towards his, but as you tried to speak, no words came out. His serious expression became a bit lighter as he inspected your predicament, letting go of your arms to instead lift you up by your waist.</p><p>As he lifted you up, he moved back to his initial position, only now carrying you in his lap.</p><p>“Don’t lie to me, y/n.” He growled, his voice lower and darker than before. “You walk home alone every day.”</p><p>The implication that he had watched you go home every day didn’t get lost on you, but as you barely managed to process what was happening, you merely let that fact float by you. Your thoughts were scrambled enough already.</p><p>Everything was too much anyway. You couldn’t move anything anymore or talk, but you <em>felt</em> everything. His hard chest through his shirt, the arms wrapped around you, the heat coming off him. It felt warm and nice and you had to employ every rational bit of your brain to remain focused, instead of dazing off in his arms.</p><p>“What did you expect me to do?” As he said this he pressed his nose against your hair, inhaling your scent. “No man would turn away such a sweet thing.”</p><p>Despite your mind growing hazy, his words still resounded in your head. Something about him, his smell, his heat, his touch, made him the only thing you could focus on. As his hands lifted you up further, sitting you upright, you surprised yourself by moaning very softly.</p><p>He chuckled at the sound, lifting up your shirt. With some struggling, as you were unable to assist, he managed to get you to your underwear, your clothes discarded throughout the room. His fingers lingered on your body, tracing lines up and down.</p><p>“I would’ve bitten you immediately, skipping to this stage, but you’re such a small thing. You would’ve been knocked out immediately.” He reached behind you, undoing the clasps of your bra, throwing it away with the rest, his lips planting open-mouthed kisses against your shoulder. “So I dosed it a bit.”</p><p>He leaned back, admiring the view for a minute. He had barely been able to contain his excitement, watching you drink his venom so sweetly. Now you where here, drugged, naked and <em>oh so pliant</em>. </p><p>Cupping your breasts, he let his thumb glide over your nipple, making you softly croon again. Pushing and pressing a bit, he played with your breasts, his eyes curiously going over your body. Uvogin removed one of his hands, placing it on your lower back instead, forcing you further against his chest. Behind you, you felt a slit open, pushing out an appendage that pressed itself against you.</p><p>Oh.</p><p>With a bit of muted shock, you realized what it was, and though your mind was muddled, your body responded immediately. Pangs of heat ran through you, a slight sheen of sweat beginning to coat your skin. Using every little bit of energy and control you had left, you looked up at Uvogin. With flushed cheeks, you met his gaze, a large grin plastered across his face.</p><p>“I want you awake for this part after all.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Back to Stay - Uvo</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p></p><div class="">
  <p></p>
  <div class="">
    <p>When you opened the door and saw Uvo, you slammed the door shut with enough force to make the poor hinges whine.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>“Oh come on.” You heard from the other side. “Aren’t you glad to see me?”</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>You wouldn’t dignify him with a response. You wouldn’t dignify him with a response. <em>You wouldn’t dignify-</em> “Fuck off!”</p>
  </div>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Lola looked up from her cot, her head tilting to see if you were in danger. Normally when guests would arrive, she’d be growling and hissing at the door, but it was unfortunate the scent of your current guest was a bit too familiar to the beast to warrant any aggression. Nevertheless, at your tone, she lifted her large body off the cot, assuming a defensive pose against the door.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>You called her a dog out of habit, having assumed she was a puppy when you found her buried beneath the rubble, but after she’d grown to about five feet in height alone and grown enormous teeth, it had been clear Lola wasn’t exactly a dog.  There were several terrifying species of beasts prowling around the Meteor City borders, eating up anything that dared linger, and somehow you’d gotten a baby one and raised it.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It had been a good year, and you had had enough food to spare for one extra mouth.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>An investment that paid itself back <em>in double.</em></p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It didn’t matter what Lola was, as she had kept you safe throughout your entire life and was easily your best friend in this shithole. It became a lot easier to traverse the Meteor City bandit-filled areas with a five-foot tall beast there to accompany you. When the entirety of Meteor City had nearly starved during a bad harvest, Lola had hunted for you and kept you alive, saving you from starvation more times than you could count.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Her services had been obsolete for a short while when you’d met a certain someone who seemed more than happy to give you anything you’d ever wanted, even if it was all stolen. You’d met during one of your hunts, and despite nearly shooting him, the two of you had hit it off. It had been way later that night, a few dozen drinks in, when you finally discovered who you were dealing with</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Uvogin.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It was generally a bad idea to interact with known Phantom Troupe members, but you had genuinely liked him, talk flowing easy and booze even easier.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Times had been nice, food had been plenty and despite all the warning signs, you’d fallen in love probably that same week. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He’d even taken you outside Meteor City about a month after meeting you, and you’d seen sights you never thought you’d see. Valleys of trees, clean water that didn’t need to be boiled six times before drinking and a starry sky without any fumes blocking the light. He had even offered getting you a place out there, but while your heart had ached after seeing the sights, you couldn’t.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Lots of people depended on you in Meteor City, and while it was a shitshow of a place, it was still home. You hadn’t ever expected to be homesick of the garbage piles and protective white garments, but you were. Nevertheless, the offer was probably the biggest gesture anyone had ever made toward you and you just felt yourself grow more and more fond of the thief. You still got told plenty of times that it was a bad idea, but by then you were too far gone to even care.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>And after six months of near constant contact, adventures, declarations of love and all that, Uvo had left you. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Without a word.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>You had grown up in savage conditions and prided yourself on surviving for so long, which required steel constitution and a lot of mental fortitude and still it hurt terribly. Everyone you knew had an attitude of ‘I told you so’  as you told them what happened, which made you very quickly shut up about it. Everyone had told you that he was bad news, so how could you have been so unbelievably stupid to think he wouldn’t ditch you like that?</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p><em>Of course</em> it wasn’t real. <em>Of course</em> he just wanted to have fun. <em>Of course</em> you got played like the easily trusting and naïve fool you were. You couldn’t believe yourself.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>But as time passed, you’d grown past it.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Growing past it definitely meant feeling <em>inhuman amounts of rage when</em> seeing him stand in front of your door and cussing excessively, didn’t it?</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>As you’d expected, the door was pulled out of its hinges, the sound reverberating throughout your reasonably large stone house. Having seen this move coming, you ‘d already vacated the room to the kitchen, followed by Lola. Aggressively chopping vegetables seemed like the safest way to get rid of your anger, as you knew you couldn’t do anything if he wanted to talk.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It was rather <em>frustrating</em>.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Aww, you removed the skull.” Uvogin was referencing a human skull he’d apparently ‘found’ and had taken home for you to hang outside before all this happened. It looked quite cool, and it worked wonders in scaring off urchins trying to steal your stuff. “Or was it taken?” </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It was smashed to pieces out of anger by someone who was currently chopping vegetables. It now felt so petty to have done all that, but the first week after he’d left without even the slightest word, you’d been a bit… angry. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I don’t recall.”  You replied, hearing him move into the same room as you, walking closer. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>You didn’t know what you expected, but for him to suddenly wrap his arms around your waist definitely wasn’t it. He sighed as he pressed you closer, and your mind short wired, your entire body stiffening at the sudden affection. You set down the knife, your eyes as wide as they’d ever been. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>Did he… did he really think it would just go back to how it was?</em>
  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>You took a step sideways, and to your relief he let go, looking slightly befuddled at your completely livid expression.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Get out of my house.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Hmm, don’t think I will.” He leaned against your kitchen top, popping a piece of your food into his mouth. “What’s wrong?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>You didn’t know whether you wanted to scream, stab him or stab yourself. Indignation filled every pore of your body, and you honest to god couldn’t think of anything to say that would correctly convey the outrage you were feeling. <em>He-</em> <em>He really was going to act like nothing was wrong?</em> Or worse, he hadn’t even realized in the eleven months that he was gone that it would probably <em>upset </em>you a little for him to leave without any word. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Are you serious?” You asked. “Are you <em>actually </em>serious?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Uvo scoffed and had the gall to actually smirk. “Are you pissed because I left-“ “Yeah I’m fucking <em>pissed</em> that you left for eleven months without a word, Jesus Christ what is wrong with you?” You interrupted, emotion washing over you as he literally laughed at your anger.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>On one hand, you were absolutely furious at him, yet you were angrier at yourself. You told yourself you were over it, and now you could barely keep yourself together as he came back? It seemed the wounds he’d left hadn’t healed as much as you thought they had.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“You know what. I don’t care anymore.” You said, holding up your hands as you turned around to leave the room for a second time, this time to a small side-room. “<em>You</em> broke up with me, just go.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Broke up with you? When did I do that?” Following you further into the house, he bent over to go through the doorway, not at all responding to the heightened volume of your words. “Did you think I did? Wait. Does that mean you fucked other people while I was gone, because I will-“</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Oh fuck off.” You snapped, watching Lola slowly move behind the larger man. “So you leave without a fucking word for eleven months, and I’m supposed to interpret that as anything else?” He once again reached out for your waist. “Don’t touch me.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>For the first time since he’d entered your house, Uvo looked annoyed, his brows furrowed together. He crossed his arms, and for a moment, a piece of instinct in the back of your mind told you not to cross a line. You were just human and he was whatever the fuck he was. Definitely not human though. “Come on, y/n, don’t be like that.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Why did it feel like a blood vessel burst in your body every time he spoke?</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>You reared up to talk again, but his hand was covering your mouth in the split second before you started speaking. “I wasn’t finished speaking. Do you really have to overreact this much? You know what I’m part of, what I do. What did you expect?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>While the covering of your mouth did infuriate you greatly, it did help calm your breathing, so when he finally removed his hand, you could calmly talk again. “I <em>expected </em>a bit of a heads-up, but really, it doesn’t matter. Even if you didn’t intend to break up with me, I do intend to break up with you now.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>His eyes narrowed and he puffed his chest out a bit, which did exactly what it was supposed to do, namely make you feel a bit cornered. You had been the one to walk to the end of your house, but only now did you clearly see that if he didn’t respond well to your improvised break-up, you were fucked. “I see, and how do you intend to eat the next few weeks?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“What do you mean?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He turned around halfway, and just before the hit registered visually, you realized what he was doing.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>With a cry, you jumped forward, several lifetimes too late to interfere in any way. Lola let out a quick heave of air, but a single blow of the gargantuan man had completely shattered every bone in her neck, and she fell down without even a final breath.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Time felt like it stood still for you, yet it all happened in such a short amount of time. Before you could even reach the hound, he stopped you, slamming you against the wall with enough force to push the air from your lungs. Holding you by your neck, your hands clawed at the hand around your throat, your feet attempting to kick him.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Uvogin seemed non-plussed. “See? How will you get anything to eat if you’re killed by the first bandit that realizes the mutt is dead? You have a lot of nice stuff in here… It would take about two days, I reckon, before this place is turned upside down and you are either killed or sold off.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>You kicked him successfully in his chest, but as you logically knew already, it didn’t stick in the slightest. Breathing was getting harder, your vision blurring and your kicks growing even weaker. He adjusted his grip on you, letting go of your neck and instead wrapping your legs around his middle and cupping your bottom.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The position was embarrassingly familiar to you, but you were too busy catching your breath and crying into his chest to even begin to feel embarrassed.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Good thing you have me then, right?” He laughed. “I’ll keep you safe.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“You’re <em>such </em>an asshole.” You cried out with a cracked voice, seeing the body of your most trusted companion lifeless in the corner of your eyes.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Maybe so.” He said, adjusting his grip so he could press your head against his chest, letting you cry for your lost friend. “But an asshole that loves you.”</p>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Jealous - Chrollo</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p></p><div class="">
  <p>The words he spoke to you in hushed whispers had always scared you, and to a certain extent they still did, but you knew that he meant them.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>His ‘I love you’, his ‘I’ll be with you forever’, his ‘you’re the most precious person to me in this entire world’ or even his ‘I’d kill anyone for you’. Chrollo’s words scared you, they truly did, but you could also depend on them, and know that whatever happened, he would still wait at the end, as obsessive and overbearing with his love as ever.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>They had been whispered most frequently during your first period, the first few weeks of captivity, in which you uselessly struggled and wailed and screamed to be let free, to no avail. Chrollo had taken it in stride, probably even took a weird sort of pleasure from punishing your misbehavior, though there had been a few times you had taken it a tad too far, and at those moments you could see his true feelings.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The anger, the yearning and the utter <em>desperation</em>.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>You had to play a housewife, someone to cook and clean and remain happy inside the walls he provided for you. This life didn’t suit you in the slightest, a small part of you screaming to be let outside every time you heard the lock of the front door open, but you had learned to press it down and act. It wasn’t just the punishment, it was also another fear. A fear that he’d grow tired of your behavior and try again with someone else.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Someone a bit more willing. Someone who would smile and laugh and spread her legs without crying and dying inside. Someone who he’d <em>like</em> more than you, leaving him with the dirty job of disposing of you, replacing you with someone better.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It had taken months of disciplining before he deemed you ready for outside trips, a privilege you had worked tirelessly toward. At first, your pride had stood between you and this goal, but as time ticked on and your options grew from limited to none, little was more important to you than the privileges you <em>knew</em> you could earn.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>At least, that’s what you’d assumed.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The trip had started fine, though you could barely keep your eyes dry as you smelled the fresh scent of spring for the first time in what seemed like forever. Chrollo merely smiled at your emotion, but you knew you shouldn’t push it, so instead of continuing to fuss over the nature surrounding you, you shared your gratitude with him and smiled widely.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He hadn’t mentioned it, so you figured you were safe. You weren’t exactly sure what the plan was, but strolled casually beside him, contentedly taking in the sunlight. After a while of walking, he interlinked your arm in his, chuckling at your slight confusion at the sudden PDA.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“We are meeting someone today, but I want you to stay quiet.” The dark-haired man suddenly said, and immediately you took the words as a challenge. A way for you to get more privileges. “So not even one word unless I give explicit permission. Okay?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>You nodded, kind of curious and nervous as to who you would meet. You hadn’t met a lot of people lately, so you would be naturally inclined to stay quiet to begin with. The path through the park ended and suburbia reformed the surroundings, many other people walking alongside the two of you on the pavement. There was a couple walking your way, some children playing on a driveway, a man skateboarding down the street and two girls chattering amongst themselves on a bench.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>At the end of the street, there was another small park, though it felt unfit to call it such, as it was more a small collection of trees with a single bench.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Beginning to feel a little overwhelmed by the sudden influx of social surroundings and chatter, you clung a bit more tightly to his arm, who to your surprise let you go entirely and only motioned you to follow him.  After the sudden release, Chrollo walked toward the single bench at the end of the street and sat down, only side-eying the spot for you to sit in.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It took a few more minutes, but suddenly a pink-haired woman approached the bench, sitting down on the other side, next to him. You didn’t dare look but saw from the mere shift in his stance that this was the person you were supposed to meet.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“You brought her?” The woman scoffed, and though you knew it directly concerned you, you kept shut as he’d told you and looked ahead. “Didn’t think you let her out of the house, Boss.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Chrollo, or the Boss as he was called by her, leaned back, and you couldn’t suppress the urge to look sideways at the scene. He was smiling in a way you hadn’t seen often, a smile that had no malice, no promises of pain, no source of manipulation. It was just a smile. “I don’t make a habit of it, no.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Your eyes shot back in front of you, carefully and as casually as you could following some birds that were flying around.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The two then entered into a conversation of which you knew nothing, he had never talked to you about the subjects they discussed, nor had he ever mentioned the names he was currently talking about like old friends. A single glance at the woman also revealed an image you didn’t want to have seen. She looked at him with an adoration you weren’t able to muster, a fondness that would last no matter what he would do.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Mid-conversation, he turned slightly toward her, and you could feel the blood draining your hands as he literally showed you his back.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Chrollo respected this woman, more than he’d ever respected you, and he talked to her in a way that seemed more unguarded. With you, even at your most vulnerable moments, it still felt like it was an empty vessel looking at you, understanding yet unempathetic to even your strongest emotions.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He loved you. He had said so. He wouldn’t trade you in for just anyone.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>But this wasn’t <em>just anyone</em>.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Had he taken you here for one last glance at freedom before replacing you? Where you going to be left by the person who had taken everything and left you with nothing but him? He couldn’t. He wouldn’t. Would he?</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He had even let go of your hand a while before reaching the bench. Was he afraid she would see him holding you and lose interest? It had been the scourge on your life, yet his love was something you had deemed unchanging until today, and for it to be slipping out of your fingers like this was hell. He was awful <em>but you loved him and he was all you had and what would he do if-</em></p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It seemed like forever until the conversation ended. The pink-haired woman stood up first, sent him a customary nod and turned around and left, not even giving you the slightest sign of acknowledgment. Despite her departure, the two of you didn’t leave yet, and you couldn’t believe that despite being locked up for near months, you kind of wanted to go home and curl up in bed.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“How are you feeling?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Your fingers had dug into the sleeves of your coat halfway through their conversation and hadn’t relented in the slightest, though they now fumbled a bit as your mind tried to find an answer to give him. A man walked in front of the bench and you completely tensed up, the proximity of someone who wasn’t Chrollo near panic-inducing.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I’m fine.” You hadn’t expected to be able to actually answer, your throat feeling as clamped up as a shell. Chrollo didn’t seem impressed and turned slightly towards you. Seeing him come closer made you tense up even more, though you would have sworn you’d been able to remove that instinct months ago. “It’s a bit… much.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Much? In what sense?” Oh god, he wanted you to say it. Your eyes shot back and forth between countless objects in the distance, and you didn’t even notice that your hands had started shaking a bit.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I don’t know.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“You do. And if I’m right, it has something to do with my meeting just now.” He studied your expression for a while before smiling victoriously. “I am right. What is it? Did Machi intimidate you? Were you upset by what she said?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“No. It’s nothing.” For the first time in literally months, you raised your voice. He seemed just as surprised as you, though there wasn’t any anger in his expression. Maybe he was just keeping it for later, or maybe he was filing this as another reason you weren’t good enough anymore, unworthy of even being loved and worshipped as he had done so far. “Can you please just leave it.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Hmm.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He stood up and extended his hand, which you immediately took. The walk back to the house was silent, though there also hadn’t been many words exchanged the first time. Back at the house, you couldn’t believe you actually felt relief as he opened the door, the many locks and alarms removed and deactivated.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He seemed to be of the same impression, an almost indistinguishable frown on his face as he watched you rush inside, quickly excusing yourself for a bath. It was one of the few times where you were occasionally alone, but even then it wasn’t assured.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>As you rushed up the stairs towards the bathroom, you even went as far as to ignore his call of your name, instead closing the bathroom door behind you and finally let out the tears you’d been holding in. As a reflex, you let the water run in the bathtub, not even adjusting the temperature, but purely for the noise. You sunk next to the bathtub, leaning against the marble as you cried. Maybe he wouldn’t hear you cry over the sound.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It seemed unlikely though, the sound of footsteps coming closer and closer. You knew he could sneak up on you no problem, and the only times you heard his footsteps were when he wanted to be heard. He wanted you to know he was approaching you, a small mercy, allowing you to slightly regain yourself, if barely.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Y/n. Open the door.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Your hands flew to your face, wiping away the tears that stained your cheeks, leaving behind trails of wet stains on your reddened skin. You felt like a mess.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“If you don’t open this-“</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Before you could even attempt to stand up, the door was already open, the locks having been forced. Chrollo looked at his own hand holding the handle for a second, before immediately switching to you. You curled deeper within yourself, the sight of him having made you cry all over again.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He rushed to your side, though it still looked as casual and nonchalant as he always presented himself as. The only reason you knew why he was a bit frantic was the slightly widened look in his eyes, which you had become quite accustomed to.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I just figured it out.” He said, crouching beside you and using one hand to push away your hands, leaving your face uncovered. “It was so ridiculous I didn’t even think to consider it.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Your hands, not allowed to go back to your face, wrapped around your knees, pushing them as close as you could.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“<em>You’re jealous, aren’t you?</em>.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I’m not.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Your bad lie made him chuckle aloud, and you realized you might as well have said the truth. He knew you like the back of his hand and was overall a much better liar than you. You would have to practice a bit in order to even try to fool him. The sight of the pink-haired woman struck in your mind, and once again a flash of panic overcame you.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Chrollo was acting like it was the most ridiculous thing, but you could just feel the slight tinge of insincerity in his words, his stance, his everything. Maybe he was just keeping you complacent, awaiting the day he would finally find someone new to keep, someone better than you. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Would he forget you?</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“You won’t replace me, right?” You said through muffled tears, pressing your face into your knees. “I can be better, I can be-”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Without words he pulled you up by your hair, displaying your fearful and tear-stained expression. You felt the slap before you heard it, a warm stinging on your cheek removing all emotions but adrenaline from your system.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It wasn’t a hard slap necessarily, compared to what you knew he was capable of, but it still hurt, and you looked at him with wide-eyes as he met your gaze.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I am truly happy that you are so distraught over losing me, yet I am also insulted.” In a full turn-around, he suddenly wrapped his arms around you, pulling you close against him as he sank down to sit beside you on the floor. “Have I been unclear with my feelings, y/n? Were my declarations of love not enough for you, y/n? What do I need to do to make my intentions crystal clear?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The sound of the water pouring into the bathtub, the feeling of his hands burrowing themselves in your hair, and the soft smell of cologne mixed with the cleaning supplies that had been recently used in the bathroom all mixed into a scene that imprinted itself in your memory.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Because I will provide you with a reminder, in case you have become <em>forgetful.</em>”</p>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Kira Yoshikage</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="">
  <p>Grabbing the ink machine, Kira replaced the needle and grabbed the ink he needed.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He didn’t necessarily have a talent for the art, but with the help of some practice and stencils he had specially made, his skills had improved steadily. Learning how to do tattoos had been irritating, but as soon as the idea had sprung into his mind, he couldn’t let it go. By now it had turned into a calming activity, something Kira greatly adored, and it made his current girlfriend perfect every time.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The dismembered hand currently on the table was flawless, but she lacked the soulmate mark that was situated on Kira’s own left hand.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Placing the needle on the lower part of her thumb, Kira started working.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Within a few minutes, the familiar mark was perfect, the skin slightly reddened and bleeding. The current imperfection of his lovers’ hand was sub-optimal, but Kira saw beyond the temporary.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Ah, my love, isn’t this better?” He crooned at the hand, lifting it up closer to inspect it. Unable to stop himself, he stuck his tongue out at the healing mark, licking away the blood staining the skin, groaning slightly. “You’re so messy.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The woman it had been attached to had been pathetic, not even slightly deserving the honor he had given her. His real soulmate would have appreciated the gesture and would love him as his true self, but the wench had cried and begged. The woman hadn’t even looked like his soulmate in the slightest, but as long as her hands did, it hardly mattered.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Kira already knew the identity of his soulmate.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He had been walking the supermarket, when he had seen you reach out for some snacks, revealing your hand to him. The small mark he had investigated his entire life, a circle filled with a yellow oval, screamed at him from the short distance. His own nails had grown rather exuberantly in those few seconds, signifying his bloodlust, yet something rather strange occurred at the same time.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He had expected to be fully focused on your hands, yet his view and focus kept shifting, from the mark on your hand, to your neck, to the hair falling in front of your face.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>To make matters worse, Killer Queen had appeared without his interference, hovering over you and curiously following you throughout the store. Kira felt himself grow more agitated, feeling his peace of mind grow farther and farther out of reach. Nevertheless, he couldn’t help himself but follow you around the store, taking note of exactly what you were buying and how you interacted with your surroundings.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>From your bag, he had Killer Queen lift your purse, if only for a second. From it he read your name and address, returning it before you even had the slightest chance to notice the small heist. Mentally he kept repeating your name, loving the way it reverberated throughout his mind.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>In the line to the register, he stood behind you, and he knew at that moment that he should never get closer to you in public ever again. The urge to reach out and let you meet the true Kira Yoshikage was quite nearly unbearable, his hands twitching to just reach out and strangle your pretty neck.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>How cute would you look~</em>
  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Killer Queen had stood beside him, not reacting to its users’ hostility and bloodlust in the slightest. Only when a woman bumped into his soulmate did the stand act, immediately pushing away the woman with way more force than was necessary. The woman screamed bloody murder, leaving Kira’s soulmate to heavily apologise and try to mend the situation.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I’m so sorry, I have no idea how that happened.” His cute, defenceless, soulmate tried, bending down to help up the ungrateful bitch of a woman. “Are you okay?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“How dare you! I’ll call the police if you touch me ever again!” She wailed. “Stay away from me!”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>His soulmate took a step back, and Killer Queen moved immediately in front of you. This time Kira immediately ordered his stand to back down, not wanting to create any more of a scene. He didn’t disagree with his stand’s actions, but the commotion wasn’t exactly something Kira enjoyed.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>After paying for his groceries, he immediately went home, played out the rest of his daily routine yet without the satisfaction of it all. His current girlfriend felt lacking, not even slightly comparing to the real thing, yet he knew know as clear as day that he couldn’t have you just yet.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>You had made him act out, made him lose sleep, made him quite nearly <em>reveal himself</em>.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>If he let it happen again, his entire peace of mind would be shattered, and he wouldn’t be able to control his deepest desires, in public or not. His nails had grown so much just from one meeting with you, he couldn’t imagine what would happen if he actually acted.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Nevertheless, he felt the need to see you again and meet you grow every passing day, so he started making compromises. From the internet he found several photographs of you, so he printed them out and started carrying them around, looking at them whenever he felt like it.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He had thrown his girlfriend away the day he met you, but the urge to get a new one stayed, and if he couldn’t have you, he would have to do with the second-best. The tattoo idea had been a stroke of genius, and knowing both your name and appearance made projecting your image on his current girlfriend so much easier.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It was you in spirit, he reckoned.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Yet he knew it wouldn’t be enough forever, the adoration and love he felt for his lover decreasing every time he remembered the existence of the real you.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>If he approached you normally, he was sure you would want to be in a relationship with him, being his soulmate and all, but it would be <em>too public</em>. Kira wouldn’t be able to control himself with you in public situations, and his peaceful life would be torn to shreds.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>You needed to be kept away.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>In the privacy of his home, he could enjoy you as much as he wanted, you becoming part of his day to day routine. You wouldn’t mind this, he was sure, you were his soulmate after all. For now, though, the plan was still a ways off. The small renovations he had made in his cellar weren’t done yet, the cameras and locks taking a while to deliver, but it would be soon.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Cleaning up the tattoo equipment, Kira bit his lip, highly anticipating the moment he would finally be ready to get the <em>real you. </em>Not an imitation, but his actual, beautiful, little soulmate.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Kira would be lying if he said he didn’t dream about it.</p>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Bruno Bucciarati</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p></p><div class="">
  <p></p>
  <div class="">
    <p>“How was your appointment, dearest?” Bruno asked, lifting his coffee cup off the saucer to take a sip.  “You haven’t said anything about it yet.”</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>He flipped a page.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>You fumbled with your dress, looking down at the plate of food he’d ordered for you. You didn’t want him to get mad, but the thing didn’t look appealing to you in the slightest. There was a slight irritation bubbling up in you, mad that he never asked you what you wanted, but there was no way you’d risk his anger over something as stupid as food.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>The two of you were at the usual restaurant, with him sitting opposite of you at your personal table. His legs were crossed and his attention was primarily on some documents you had seen Fugo hand him, but you’d grown used to that.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>When you’d gotten to know the capo, it had been annoying, his attention being spread everywhere at any time. The two of you could be in deep conversation, or worse, but when duty called, Bucciarati answered. In the end, you’d grown tired of always being number two, and you had tried to break up with him.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>That hadn’t gone well.</p>
  </div>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“It was fine.” You responded, picking at the plate with a fork. “She wanted me to ask If you’d be able to attend with me next week.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Bruno nodded, still not looking up. “That can be arranged. Why so?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>A few months after your proposed break-up, and everything that followed, Bruno had ‘suggested’ you see a psychologist for your fits of <em>anxiety and hysteria</em>. The very notion that something was wrong with you and not his adamant refusal to let you leave was insulting, but you warmed up to the idea as soon as you realized it meant you would have someone to talk to about all this.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Even if the woman briefed Bruno on anything you said, it still felt nice to be able to get things off your chest.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Taking a small bite of your meal, you quickly put your fork back next to the plate, your entire mouth protesting against the flavor. Washing it away with some water, you responded. “Couple’s therapy apparently. Hearing each other’s side and all that.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>A small smile appeared on the black-haired man as he turned another page.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Looking forward to it.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Your only response was a sigh, and you leaned back into the chair. At the sound of your exasperation, Bruno looked up for the first time since you came here, lifting one eyebrow. Whatever he saw in your expression didn’t sit right with him, and he put down the papers he’d been reading.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“What’s wrong, y/n?” He asked. “You’ve been a bit distant today and you’ve barely touched your food. Are you sure the appointment went well? We can talk about-“</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“It went fine. I’m fine.” You quickly responded, holding up your hands to suss out the sudden tenseness in the air. “Don’t worry about me.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He sent back a half-smile, reaching his hand over the table for yours. “I always worry about you, dear.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>You laid your hand In his, remembering the times the touch would have made you over the moon.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>A part of you still loved the black-haired man dearly, but whenever you looked into his eyes, you saw only the hurt you felt the days before you tried to leave him and the betrayal that happened after. Time had mended some wounds, but some stuck around like wine stains in a white suit.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Words had been said that night that shouldn’t have been said, and you weren’t above admitting that, but the sheer intensity in Bruno Bucciarati’s body language had made it very clear that he wasn’t having any of it. You’d screamed and cried, telling him exactly what had been bothering you all this time: the lack of attention, his constant interference in your life and the bloodshed you knew he participated in.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He didn’t say or do anything until you accused him of not loving you.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>With some strange power he still hadn’t explained, he had removed your legs and arms and zipped your mouth shut after you said that. You’d been scared to death as he held you in his arms for hours, whispering in your ears all kinds of things.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>They had started sweet, though the situation didn’t exactly make them seem as such. Declarations of undying love and loyalty had sprung from his mouth, though things had turned depraved rather quickly.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Not even counting the sexual aspect of his touches and words, the things he whispered got darker and darker, until he suddenly wondered aloud if he should keep you like this, forever dependant on him.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>When he’d eventually given your appendages back to you, he had said with an iron-determined expression that if you ever tried to leave him again, he’d remove them permanently. The whispered threats towards loved ones he’d said while cradling you also reverberated throughout your mind and after a few hours, no intentions of leaving the capo remained within you.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Anything but <em>that</em> was preferable.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sometimes you still woke up screaming, and it didn’t help that the very person who had put you through that experience slept right next to you, always so desperate and helpful when calming you down. He’d kiss you, and press you against him until you calmed down and fell back asleep.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“There’s no need for that, Bruno.” You smiled weakly at the capo. “I’m just a bit tired.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He squeezed your hand and let it go, leaning back into his chair. Picking up the papers he’d been looking over, his attention was back to business, though he still glanced occasionally at your form.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Would you like to accompany me for something later this afternoon?” He suddenly asked, his eyes back on the ink. Like you, he hadn’t touched his food all that much, his entire appearance looking as immaculate as when he entered the restaurant. “I need to talk to some people on the way, but I’ll treat you to some nice things if you wait for me.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>While getting some fresh air and strolling across Naples sounded nice, the fact that he needed to talk to some people made it very clear that he’d be working. When Bucciarati worked and presented himself to others as such, his entire attitude became more intense and professional. Seeing him like that reminded you too much of that fateful night.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I might be a bit too tired for that-“ “I understand. I don’t mind. Go home and rest up a bit.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Feeling more relaxed at his easy-going tone, you nodded and removed the napkin from your lap. Being stuck inside the rather large house Buciaratti had arranged for you wasn’t ideal, the constant surveillance of the neighbors being a regular anxiety factor for you, but reading a book in the gardens sounded nice.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Before you were able to stand up, Buciaratti shifted his legs, and a small smile appeared on his face. He wasn’t looking at you though, his eyes focused on something behind you.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Flipping another page, he motioned for you to come closer, his focus back on you.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Unbeknownst to you, even if Bruno didn’t look at you, a part of him always did. When stands where left unattended, they acted out on their own, reflecting the users' innermost desires and personalities. Whenever you and Bucciaratti where alone, the blue stand of the capo would always fuss and hover around you.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>You didn’t notice or feel the lingering touches, the soft noises of excitement Sticky Fingers made whenever you smiled, or the sheer anger it portrayed whenever someone else touched you. Bruno saw, of course, and made very special note to dismiss his stand in the presence of other stand users.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Immediately answering his call, you stepped forward.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Pulling you down to his level, he placed a soft kiss at the corner of your lips. He let you go immediately after, leaving you a bit surprised at the sudden display of affection. Laying down the pile of papers next to him, he shot you a soft smile, though you recognized a very familiar darkness in his eyes.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I don’t want to be too presumptuous, but if you feel up for it-“</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Whatever came next wasn’t as optional as he made it sound. Bruno was very give-and-take, if he let you stay home instead of going with him on his walk, there was something you would need to give up later. You weren’t part of his gang, but you were very certain that what came next would come from him as a capo, not as a man. It wasn’t a request, it was <em>an order.</em></p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“-would you mind wearing what I’ve laid out for you on the bed? I’ll be home a bit late.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>With a bit of hesitation, you nodded.</p>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Shaiapouf</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p></p><div class="">
  <p></p>
  <div class="">
    <p>
      <em>Huh?</em>
    </p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>As you rubbed some sleep out of your eyes, you felt exhaustion wave over you in one fell swoop. Falling instinctively to your knees, the pain nearly made you pass out on the spot. A wince escaped your lips. Trying to calm yourself, your hands curled in the dirt beneath you, letting the clumps pass between your fingers. Your eyes fluttered open slowly, your vision blurring.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>It was cold, and with a bit of discomfort, you curled within yourself, your clothes not even remotely fit for the weather. The discomfort was nothing compared to the pain you felt in your legs though, as you were barely able to move them.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>You lifted your hands, looking at the dirt that was now coating your skin.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>
      <em>What was happening?</em>
    </p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>
      <em>Where were you?</em>
    </p>
  </div>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Trying to focus, a sudden noise next to you brought you out of your exhausted and confused concentration. Looking to your left, you saw a disheveled looking woman, screaming and crying. As your mind slowly started to comprehend the view, you noticed with a remote shock that there were a lot of people surrounding you.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>A lot.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>All standing in a formation, as you were.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The woman next to you was still screaming, and some other people also seemed to ‘wake up’, immediately panicking at the unfamiliar and confusing situation. Most people, however, were standing still as statues, looking up at the sky with drool collecting at the edges of their mouths.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>How had you gotten here?</em>
  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Stumbling back to your feet, though with great protest from your muscles, you looked around, trying to spot a way out of the rather frightening crowd. As panic and adrenaline fuelled your body, you quickly spotted a less occupied stroke, immediately moving towards it. The woman still hadn’t stopped screaming, and as you moved past some people who were staring in front of them with dead eyes, more and more voices joined her.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Quickening your step, you finally moved past the last in line. From there you could see the sheer amount of people gathered, their stiff posture and horrifying expressions etching themselves in your memory.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>Had you been like that?</em>
  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>For a moment you really didn’t know what to do.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>In the far distance, you could see the palace, which was absolutely ridiculous, but it did give you some indication on which way to walk if you wanted to try going home. The current situation of your legs and the continually waking up people surrounding didn’t fill you with confidence however. Soon everyone would wake up, and if the cacophony of screams and calls for loved ones was anything to go by, it would be chaos.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>In the middle of the stroke of land you were standing in, now completely panicking, you suddenly noticed a man lying face first on the ground, about twenty feet away from you.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>In a split-second decision, you decided to help him, or at least check if he was okay. He would be trampled by the crowd if he kept laying there, and though panic was seeping through your own body as well, you couldn’t just leave someone to their death.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Moving slowly towards him, you kept an eye on the gazes of the people, some of which now seemed to follow you languidly.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Finally within range of him, you noticed he was lying completely still amidst some very confusing marks in the dirt, making it look as if he’d fallen from the sky. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Crouching down next to the fallen man, you tried to shake him awake, though to no avail. He was a young, lanky blonde man wearing very clean clothes, at least compared to the ragged clothing all the others wore. As you turned him around, your eyes already starting to water at the thought of him being dead, you noticed something <em>very off</em> about his face.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>W-where those <em>antennae?</em></p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>As soon as your fingers reached out, attempting to touch the appendages, two eyes slowly opened, amber eyes slowly moving over you. You retracted your hand immediately, feeling a bit of shame amidst the swirling turmoil of confusion and panic you already felt.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Are you okay?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Your voice sounded raspy, as if not having spoken for many days.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He blinked, once, twice, before looking away. His eyes went over the crowd and for a second you suspected he would wail like the woman, or at least show some form of confusion or panic. Instead, his expression morphed into one of distaste.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Do you need help getting up?” You tried again, extending your hand towards him. With enormous reluctance, he eventually took your hand, though he immediately displayed more strength than you possessed in your entire body, holding you up more than you pulled him up, though he collapsed on your shoulders as soon as he stood up.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Barely able to keep him upright, you struggled to support him.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Do you know what’s going on?” He hadn’t responded to anything you said thus far, and he seemed as displeased with the situation of depending on your strength as he was with your question.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Suddenly he rearranged his expression, every hint of disgust and distaste turning into a calm, confident expression he threw your way, making for a rather intense moment of eye contact.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Take me to the palace.” He ordered in a confident and authoritative tone that sounded like it came completely natural to him.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I-I don’t think I can carry you all the way, sir.” You spoke, not even realizing you had added a ‘sir’ in there. “I think we should wait here until some help arrives.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It didn’t matter if he had heard your response, as halfway through your words he suddenly stood upright, making a noise of complete desperation and surprise. His eyes focused on the far-away palace, tears suddenly starting to stream across his face. With a screech of sheer anguish that made you step away, he suddenly fell to his knees.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He threw his hands toward the sky.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“My king! Please. <em>No</em>. Anyone but you.” He wailed before his movements stilled and he fell once more on the dirt beneath him.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>As if that was the signal, the crowds surrounding the two of you suddenly all woke up, looking around in sheer confusion before all coming to the same conclusion of panic and chaos. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Bending yourself over the fallen man out of pure instinct, you protected him from the sudden stampede of people. His expression of utter grief and desolation had tugged on your heartstrings and you weren’t sure why, but in the calmness of mind only panic could provide, you felt like the only one who could help him. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>You would protect him.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The pure chaos that ensued after that was maddening. People pushed and pulled and ran in every possible direction. The noise of people screaming, yelling questions and completely panicking was deafening. You shielded the man from most of the kicks and pushes, your body feeling more broken with each following push.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>After something nearing a half-hour, most of the people had ran past the two of you, though several people still surrounded you, either unable to walk or searching for loved ones. It felt like forever, still holding his body protectively, unable to let go.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It felt even longer before the first relief arrived, busses instantly filled to the brim, heading back towards the city. A family van that still had some room left managed to eventually cram both you and the man in, who despite the entire event still hadn’t woken up.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>A shallow but steady heartbeat kept you certain he was still living, though.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Being dropped off at your house after nearly fourteen hours of pure chaos felt unreal, and as the man still hadn’t woken up, some of the other passengers helped you carry him inside. Thanking them profusely, you gave them some food for the road, as you knew everybody hadn’t eaten in what felt like weeks.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>With an apple in his mouth, the driver waved you goodbye.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Stepping back inside, you grabbed some food yourself, though your body wanted nothing more than sleep. After forcing in a few bites and leaving some more for the blonde unconscious on your couch, you retired to your bed, nearly crying as you saw the familiar inside of your room.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Waking up an indefinite amount of hours later, the sun fully shining, you could honestly say you hadn’t ever felt as bad as you had now. Washing yourself in the bathroom felt mechanical, your mind still not fully comprehending what had happened. Your phone was still in the last place you remembered it being and a quick check revealed that the news was completely blowing up.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>109 missed messages.</em>
  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The sudden realization that your family probably had been missing you, as well as friends possibly experiencing the same, set in at that moment, and you didn’t even realize a tall figure watching you through the doorway as you desperately responded to each and every message.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Where did you take me, woman?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The sudden noise made you look up and seeing the man standing in the doorway made you step up immediately, walking toward him with concern. In the time he had been unconscious as well as the earlier chaos, you had been responsible for him, and that feeling didn’t just disappear.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I took you with me to the city.” The immediate ache in your legs made you stumble against a lamp, and you held yourself steady against the wall. “You had fallen unconscious, remember? It was complete chaos, so I looked out for you.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He still looked down on you with a contemptuous glare that made you a bit confused, though as you mentioned him falling unconscious, his eyes suddenly widened. He motioned at his loosely bandaged arm, something you and another woman in the van had done as his arm had started swelling in your grasp.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“You did this as well then, I assume?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>At your nod, he suddenly swerved around and left the room. For a second you wanted to go after him, but the ache in your legs, as well as your still blowing up phone, made you direct your attention away from him.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>In the following days, he merely kept residing in your home, something you didn’t really object to. Most of your friends were, like you, in varying stages of injury and your parents, despite their concern, didn’t see an opportunity to come see you.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It felt a bit weird to experience something so life-changing and be left completely alone afterward.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>So you didn’t mind your guest.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The first day, he had been incredibly melancholic, crying and wailing whenever you were out of sight, though none of this was visible whenever he spoke to you. You tried to speak to him about the incident, but besides letting you speak and cry while leaning against him, he didn’t say anything.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>In some more lighter moments, you had tried to ask him about the antennae, or even his rather purplish complexion, but he had so far always ignored those questions.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Other questions about family or friends also served no purpose but make him cry, which you decided to avoid at all cost. When you saw the tears begin to fall from his eyes on the third day, you had told him that he could stay as long as he’d like.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>You’d miss him if he left anyway</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He grew kinder towards you as time progressed, speaking more and even asking your name at one point. The upgrade from ‘woman’ to ‘y/n’ filled you with great accomplishment, even though you knew it probably shouldn’t. The days were largely spent with you physically recuperating, sleeping and resting a lot, and him reading. He read at an incredible pace, nearly finishing your entire bookshelf by the end of the week.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>You’d laughed rather obnoxiously when you saw him reading some cheesy romantic novel you had gotten as a joke.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>His being there wasn’t always fun though.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>When you tried to go out, for example, intending to finally visit a friend that lived only a few blocks away, he had expressed in great detail the foolishness of your plan, stating that you were in no way fit to move that distance yet. His insistence, even leading up to a stand-off at your door, had surprised you, though it also made you a bit happy that he cared.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Your injuries eventually healed, and walking became no problem, though Shaiapouf, as he had eventually introduced himself as, became clingier and more worried by the minute,</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The first day back home, you had crawled towards the kitchen for food, and now you couldn’t even reach for the remote or a book without Shaiapouf interfering and taking care of the task in your stead. The shift from indifference and contempt to pure servitude and admiration happened quick enough to make you feel quite confused.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He still didn’t eat with you, though he often made your meals before you even stepped into the kitchen. When you asked about it, he told you he didn’t feel hungry. At first, you assumed it to be a joke, but you had really never seen him eat.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p><em>“Don’t worry, y/n. I will eat when I need to.”</em> He had said, a soft glint in his eyes. Immediately changing the topic he had then asked you with an expression full of concern if you had already bathed.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It’s funny how quickly abnormal things become part of day to day life.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>With everything going on, the city had been on a complete standstill. Yet as the days progressed, life started returning to normal, people going back to work and living their usual life. The fact that nobody still knew what had been going on that day became background noise, and life went on.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Despite not feeling remotely ready, you knew you had to do the same. As Shaiapouf had barely inconvenienced you, you decided to not make a point out of Shaiapouf’s, or Pouf as he wanted to be called now, extended stay at your place. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Having someone be there when you got home was a nice feeling, and you didn’t get the feeling he had somewhere else to go.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>After making a few calls with your boss, you could start again the next day, and as to celebrate the return to normalcy, you had invited Pouf to see a play. He seemed to like art, and he had cried when you’d asked him if it was something he would like.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>You took this as a good sign.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Now, wearing a dress you’d worn to an occasion that seemed a lifetime away, and Pouf wearing a suit you’d borrowed from the neighbors, the two of you were ready to go. He seemed a bit uncomfortable in the three-piece, but he wore it well and it fit perfectly, which isn’t always the case with borrowed suits.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Are you ready to go, y/n?” He asked, a small smile on his face. After a comment you’d made about him not smiling often, he seemed to make it his duty to smile as often as possible, though they were easily distinguished from his usual euphoric laughter.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I am.” You said, returning the smile.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Stepping in the car, you realized this was the first time you’d actually gone outside since the accident. Every time you planned to do groceries or some similar task, Pouf had jumped up to the opportunity, leaving you with little choice but to lean back and let him handle it. You’d told him to leave the receipts to you, but you had yet to see one, which added onto the list of things you really needed to speak to him about.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The theatre was a little ways off, the drive being an approximate hour, but as you looked at your fancily dressed company, you decided you didn’t mind in the slightest.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Are you looking forward to the play, y/n?” Pouf asked as you started the car, sitting so upright in his chair that you wondered if he’d ever been in a car before.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Well, at least <em>consciously</em>.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I am! I haven’t been to something like this in a while.” You responded. “They’re usually a bit too expensive for me, if you want to see something high-class at least, but considering the occasion, I thought it would be nice.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“The occasion?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Had you forgotten to tell him?</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>Oh dear.</em>
  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Yeah, I’m starting work again tomorrow, remember?” You tentatively said, already expecting an outburst. Living with Pouf had been easy, but his dramatic moments made it a bit like walking on egg-shells when things of importance were at play. “Can’t live off my savings forever, you know.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The atmosphere changed immediately and you could feel his mood dropping. The feeling that he didn’t really understand or accept your choice grew when he responded with a tone that was too even and emotionless to be genuine.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“If it is money you want, I’ll be certain to procure it for you.” He started. “There is no need for you to <em>work</em> like all those ants.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Not having expected such an answer, you stumbled over your words a bit. “Pouf, don’t be ridiculous. I have to return to my normal life sometime. I can’t always-“</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Nonsense.” Pouf interrupted. “My sincerest apologies for interrupting, but you are steering of the path that lies before you. If you’d allow me, I could certainly provide you with everything you want, everything you <em>deserve</em>.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“The path that lies before me? What are you talking about?” You said incredulously. His speech, which was usually already quite polite, had been turned up a notch, and he was now addressing you as one would royalty, which felt incredibly weird. When your eyes glanced away from the road toward him, you were surprised to see his expression as neutral as could be.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He wasn’t kidding.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“You saved my life at the invasion, showing me the sincerest form of mercy and kindness I have gazed upon in my entire existence. While you do not currently have the qualities required to be a Queen, I see the great potential within you.” He stated with great confidence, his tone unwavering. “I will see to it you will reach this goal, and remove all the false usurpers myself if I have to.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Placing his hand on his heart, he turned towards you.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“That’s all there is to it.” He finished, finally meeting your eyes with his own.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Being too overwhelmed to respond to <em>all of that</em> immediately, you looked for a place to park. Finding a spot, you drove the car in there and shut off the entire vehicle before turning to the man in question. Pouf’s entire body language hadn’t changed, though his face once again contained the small smile he wore when he’d try to appease you.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“What the fuck, dude?” You began, not even knowing where to begin. “I don’t want <em>any</em> of that. Why would you even assume that’s a thing I want?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>For the first time since you met the tall blonde, he seemed a bit confused.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“You <em>don’t</em>?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“No! Of course not!” You bit back. “Unbelievable. I literally take you into my house and- and I planned this entire evening for you and all you have ever done for me is <em>isolate</em> me and act like I can’t do anything..”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Suddenly leaning over his seat towards yours he grasped your hands off the steering wheel, looking absolutely desperate. “Then what is it you <em>do</em> want? I will give it to you. Do you want riches? Fame? Love? <em>You can have it all</em>. My everything is yours and yours alone.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>You were about to respond when you suddenly felt a force surrounding you, immediately shutting you up. The atmosphere became increasingly suffocating, and you looked with open horror as large, beautiful butterfly wings sprouted out of Pouf’s back. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Instead of the wings bending to accommodate the car, the car’s metal burst out of position by the force of the wings.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Feeling like the air had been forced out of your lungs, you could do nothing but watch as Pouf pressed your hands ever closer, his breathing becoming a bit labored.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Small scales started waving off the wings, and as they got closer and closer, you couldn’t help but inhale some of them. His eyes slowly followed some of the scales, and his eyes softened as soon as they reached you, a loving smile forming on his face.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Seeing your car split open was already enough proof of the rather dangerous nature of the man grasping your hands, but his expression made it all the worse. He seemed absolutely enamored, holding your hands as if they were a lifeline.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>A draft came in from behind him, the gap in the car becoming larger as the wings started expanding, though you had trouble focusing on anything but the man holding your hands.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I can feel <em>everything</em> you’re feeling.” He said, looking absolutely ecstatic.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>As time ticked on you felt your head grow dizzier and dizzier, your vision starting to blur at the edges. The more scales you inhaled, the more thoughts and feelings started invading your mind. Had Pouf always been so <em>handsome</em>? His blonde locks and soft eyes had always been beautiful, but now you were sure you had never seen someone so incredibly <em>gorgeous</em>.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>You blinked a few times, and your breathing calmed as all of the unpleasant sensations washed away. The crushing atmosphere was non-existent, the worry you felt irrelevant and the sheer adoration in Pouf’s eyes now seemed sweet. He <em>loved</em> you.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Warm feelings you weren’t sure where there before started flowing throughout you, but the thoughts that flew through your mind assured you that you had <em>always </em>felt this way.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>Where you in love?</em>
  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>His smile widened.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“If that is what you want, <em>my Queen</em>.”</p>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Pariston</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“But I’m sure it’s a misunderstanding, right?”</p><p>Pariston had pulled you into his lap, not leaving it up to any debate, which was probably the first sign that something was terribly wrong. He started softly stroking your back, which was meant as something to calm you down but combined with the look he was giving you it didn’t work.</p><p>His smile was soft, but his eyes had a dark glint that made your hair stand upright.</p><p>His fingers stilled their movements.</p><p>“And what if it wasn’t?” His words made no sense. You looked at him with wide eyes. You had just asked him if he had done the awful things your friend Toby had accused him of. Threatening, killing, blackmailing and all sorts of other awful stuff. All in your name. It couldn’t be true.</p><p>“This isn’t funny, Pariston.” The tone of your voice had turned a bit shaky but was still firm in its anger. You matched his eyes with a determined look. “I know you wouldn’t do such things, but Toby had pictures and even camera footage of you! At least explain to me what you were doing at those crime scenes.”</p><p>His smile turned from soft to absolutely menacing. “You should listen to your friends, y/n. Everything he told you was true. I would know, I sent him the footage.”</p><p>“What the fuck, Pariston? Stop messing with me here.” You felt your cheeks go red with poorly concealed anger. “This isn’t funny.”</p><p>He pouted and tilted his head, waving his hands around in a dramatic fashion. “To be honest, the build-up to this was killing me. The preparation was dreadful and to be honest, your execution of the part a bit lackluster. You’ve not even cried yet.”</p><p>The only thing you could manage was gape at the words coming out of his mouth. This was your boyfriend, the love of your life! You had given up parts of your career in order to spend more time with him, you had let go friends, given up on family meetings and even moved in with him. He was your shoulder to cry on, your best friend. How many nights had the two of you spent with late-night discussions, staring out at the city, talking about whatever the two of you could imagine.</p><p>“It’s probably because you love me so, which I truly appreciate, really.”</p><p>You stood up, disgusted with his words. This was probably just a poorly executed joke, though even you couldn’t find any humor in his eyes. </p><p>“You don’t believe me?” He pouted “That’s really hurtful, y/n”</p><p>Trying to tune out his still cheerful voice, you took a few steps away from him. You needed space, time to think, and most of all, a drink. Before you could get far, however, Pariston snatched your arm in a painful, iron-grip. </p><p>“I wanted to save this for later, as a finishing touch, but I see you need a bit more proof.” Pulling you back into his lap, he wrapped one of his arms around you, squeezing a tiny bit too hard. His other hand pulled the laptop on his desk toward him. He started searching for a file and within a few tense seconds, he had found it.</p><p>Click.</p><p>
  <em>It was a homemade video with the camera facing downward showing shoes you recognized as a gift you had bought for him for your anniversary. They were golden, glittery and screamed bad taste, but fit perfectly with Pariston. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>The camera moved and now showed Paristons face, showing his show-face. A big smile matched with sparkling eyes, nearly glittering in its intensity. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I normally would never film anything like this, leaves too many open ends, you see,” Pariston said, his free hand moving dramatically as to enunciate his point. “But you need to see this, doesn’t she, Toby?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The camera shifted, showing the mangled corpse of your friend. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>It was hard to recognize him, seeing as his face was completely bashed in, but his clothing and body-shape were enough to identify him. Entrails were littered everywhere, staining the clean floors with blood. His arms were bent in directions that couldn’t be humanly possible.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Pariston stood up, moving closer, started lightly kicking Toby, soiling his shoes with blood.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Pariston laughed. “You okay, buddy? </em>
</p><p>
  <em>He crouched, showing an even closer close-up of the mess that used to be your best friend, the one who told you of Pariston’s true nature, warning you.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“He sure is quiet now! Not at all like earlier.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Pariston’s voice turned away from its usual cheer, turning dark and low. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I don’t like people interfering with y/n, so you really had this coming.”</em>
</p><p>A small click was heard, and the video recording stopped.</p><p>Tears started falling down your cheeks, eyes incredulous. Pariston’s face nestled itself in the crook of your neck, sighing softly. You didn’t even have the fight in you to push him away, only filled with grief and despair at the sight of your dead friend.</p><p>“Why?”</p><p>He merely started laughing.</p><p>Pariston turned your chin towards him, inspecting your grief-stricken expression, tears still falling. A teasing grin appeared on his face, pressing your cheek against his mouth. He opened his mouth slightly, breathing against you. He then stuck out his tongue pressing it against your face, lapping up every tear that had spilled out from your eyes.</p><p>Grief very quickly turned to fear, realizing that the man you had loved so dearly was a killer and held you currently in his arms. You wiggled and tried to push him away, only to make him chuckle and press you closer.</p><p>“<em>You’re so cute when you struggle</em>, y/n.” He whispered, pressing your forehead against his. “But tonight you aren’t going anywhere, not when I waited this long.”</p><p>A cheerful look appeared on his face, completely in contrast with the expression you must have sported. “But aren’t you glad! Now you get to know the real me, isn’t that a treat.”</p><p>“You.. you killed him.”</p><p>His expression turned dissatisfied, pouting slightly. “We’re past that, y/n, please focus on me.”</p><p>“I can’t just forget that you showed me the corpse of my best friend?!” You suddenly shouted, anger and grief overtaking your fear. “What the hell is wrong with you? You know I loved Toby.” Furiously, you pushed him away from you, though still situated on his lap, you managed to create a tiny bit of space.</p><p>The small victory was quickly cut short as the arms around you pressed you easily back against him, displaying a strength you had never known he possessed. His gaze was still on you, now completely blank. It frightened you more than anything, seeing his usually animated face so cold and distant.</p><p>“If you say his name again I’ll break your fingers.”</p><p>Seeing no sign of dishonesty, you quickly shut up, anger again replaced by fear. A smile quickly appearing again on his face, a twinkle returning to his eyes, making you realize that every seemingly nice, genuine smile he had given you throughout your relationship might as well have been fake. Every compassionate moment, every sweet gesture, all fake.</p><p>As you started crying softly again, this time for him, his smile turned outright blinding, overflowing with a joy you had not seen him experience ever before.</p><p>At least this one was probably genuine.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Drider! Chrollo</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p></p><div class="">
  <p></p>
  <div class="">
    <p>The stories had been plenty, every single one more graphic and horror-filled than the last. Over empty cruisers of beer and dimly lit candles, you were warned about the dark cave on the edge of town at least five times, the hushed warnings not falling on flat ears with you, though you probably didn’t interpret their spooked stories in the way they intended.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>With wide eyes, you bit into every piece of information they could offer. Was it a steep cave? Was there web in or around the cave? Was there any missing livestock? Or missing people?</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>A few were a bit put off by your enthusiasm, though a loosely lipped man in the corner of the tavern seemed to think that he could get you to bed him by telling you, which led him to tell you everything that was confirmed and everything that was rumoured. After he told you, you, of course, paid for his beer and retired to your room, not intending to humour his clear desire to follow you.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>There had been a few missing children, and after a full-on search in the area, a few more people had started missing.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>It had to be here.  All the signs pointed to it. An actual drider. While rumours of the beast were plenty, actual sightings were increasingly rare, the solitary being only coming out of its cave system every few years to collect food and lure in passerby’s with calls of ‘fire!’ and ‘help!’. To your surprise, there had been no mention of any of that, but you reckoned that anyone who would know was probably dead by now.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>As you sharpened your sword, you felt your arms tremble with excitement. Your search had taken so long, taking you from nation to nation without end in sight, and now finally there was another shot.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>The venom of driders had lots of uses, depending on how the creature desired to use it. In very small doses, it acted as a paralyzing agent, keeping the prey conscious and alive yet unable to move. In large doses, it killed nearly instantly. You weren’t interested in any of those uses, but rather in what one with a little bit of alchemical prowess could do with the venom.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>In the capitol, there were already alchemists who could fashion medicine out of it that could bring back people from the brink of death. This was what you were interested in.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>Your best friend, someone who you would consider family, had gotten into an accident two years ago, and had yet to wake. Their family kept them fed throughout their slumber, but their health was deteriorating, and they needed to wake up.  You weren’t sure if they were even alive now, the last letter of their sister being months ago, but you couldn’t give up with the finish line so close in sight.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>You’d kill the drider, extract its venom, give it to an alchemist and you’d wake up your best friend.  Everything would go back to normal.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>It had to.</p>
  </div>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The lack of communication could just mean things were the same, nothing new to report. It didn’t need to mean anything else.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>As your eyes closed, sleep softly overtaking you, you wondered what it would feel like to know this journey was over, to finally arrive somewhere and not have to leave immediately. You wanted rest, calm and somewhere finer to sleep than rotten hay and cracked tavern beds. You just wanted to sleep.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The journey had taken something out of you, and replaced it with a heavy weight that didn’t seem to go away.  A pure determination was still pushing you forward, but it was also the harsh realization that if you didn’t get the venom, there was no point in coming home anyway.  What would even be left?</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>And so you donned your sword and walked out into the field you were warned about the next morning, your eyes still heavy with sleepless dreams. The grain passed you gently as you sauntered forward, the cave coming closer and closer in sight. It wasn’t even hidden well, the drider apparently confident enough to not need to rely on stealth and sneaky manoeuvres to catch its prey.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The realization only made you sigh, envisioning a long and tough battle ahead.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The webbing covered the entirety of the caves entrance, and you needed to slash through it multiple times to completely clear it. For a few moments, after a path had been cleared, you stood still, steadying your breath and enjoying the warm sun that was shining down on your neck. This was what you had worked towards, it was no use getting nervous now.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>And so with a heavy heart, you stepped through the opening you had created, the cold draft of the cave immediately chilling you. Holding your sword steady in your hand, you softly walked on, careful not to stand on any loose pebbles or webbing. It was a rumour that driders could feel exactly what was happening through their webbing, but you didn’t want to take chances.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>With a large part of the entrance still covered by webbing, the cave was shrouded nearly in complete darkness,  and so after a few steps you grabbed your lantern, lighting it.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It felt completely batshit to walk into a driders lair with little more than a sword and a lantern, but you couldn’t really think of anything else. Luring it out was nearly impossible, the large cave systems often big enough to have multiple exits, and driders were smart enough to see simple deceit when it passed their way. Walking up to it and attacking was the only way that had proven successful with past infestations.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>You encountered the first split, and following your gut, you chose the path with the most web covering it. More web meant more activity, right? Hacking through the web, you climbed through another layer of webbing, the sticky substance sticking to your clothing and equipment, which you had oiled up beforehand to not let it stick enough to incapacitate you.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>When you reached the first cocoons, you knew you were going the right direction. Emptied out and hollowed husks of webbing, having at one point contained something or someone alive. These husks seemed quite old, but the mere fact that they were here meant the newer ones would probably not be far off.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>And you were right. Another few twists and turns through ever-thickening webbing, and you encountered the first cocoon that had yet been emptied, a soft sludging noise nauseating you as you pressed your sword against it. It was no use changing your mind now, but you swallowed heavily as you continued still.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It took another hour of wandering through forests of cocoons, most still filled, before you reached a clearing. In the clearing, there was a surprising amount of webbing on the floor, thick enough to be able to stand upon. Rumour had it that rooms like these were used for nesting and sleep, though you saw no eggs anywhere.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>That would’ve been easy, you reckoned. You’d just steal an egg and bail out of here. There had to be some venom in those things right? It was odd that there were none, but it was at least comforting that you didn’t have to deal with a drider and its hatched brood, which would possibly even diminish the slightest chance at surviving you still had.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Moving around the nest, you snuck into another clearing, this one contrasting with the previous one with its lack of webbing. The floor was littered with something strange, an odd crushing sound occurring with every step. You lowered your lantern slightly to light up the ground and felt another wave of exhaustion hit you as you saw bones covering the entirety of the floor.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>You sighed.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Intending to move along, not wanting to sit still for too long, you didn’t notice a black appendage suddenly sticking out of the darkness, its presence only barely noticeable through the dim light emitting through your lantern. Before you could realize anything was amiss, it struck out against your hand, making you drop the lantern.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>You immediately tried to pick it back up, but before you could snatch it up, the fire inside the lantern was suddenly gone, basking you in complete darkness. Holding out your sword, you waved it around haphazardly, too panicked to really think of what to do.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Alone?” A male voice suddenly quipped behind you, and you whipped around, your sword held up. You couldn’t see anything, the loss of your lantern robbing you of all your sight. “Usually there are groups… and you do not seem like you are lost.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>With every word, he moved, his soft and clear voice the only indication of his location. This wasn’t the time to panic. You had survived worse things than this, if you could think clearly, it would be fine. You needed to keep him talking, so you could figure out exactly where he was. Finding your lantern wasn’t viable with the drider in the same room, so an aggressive approach was probably better than a bad defence.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Sorry for the disturbance…” You tried, hoping your unusual approach would tempt the drider into talking more. Anger or some call to justice would probably be expected by the creature. “I have travelled far to find one of your kind. I need your venom to help a dying friend, so I am here to kill you.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“So honest.” He laughed, and you turned around facing his new location. “Did it occur to you that you could’ve asked?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I have not once heard of a story between man and driders that ended with peaceful communication.” Your heartbeat in your throat, the darkness filling your veins with fear. The realization that your death was such a high probability nearly froze you in place, though you regained yourself seconds later. “Only with driders killing the humans as soon as they let down their guard.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>This was not the time to curl up in fear, though your entire body and mind begged for it. A part of you was strategizing every moment, trying to figure out how to get out of here, but somehow, the alternative didn’t fill your mind with that much opposition. If dying here was what ended your journey, so be it. At least it would be over.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“You might be right. My kind is not overtly friendly.” He had moved closer and you tentatively stuck out your foot to see if you could move in his direction. A soft crunch beneath your boots chilled you to your core as you moved slightly closer. You knew exactly what that was. “But maybe this could be the first step into a new direction. There has to be a first, don’t you agree?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>For the first time since this strange conversation, he hadn’t been moving mid-sentence, staying right in place. His voice indicated he was right in front of you, just a few feet away. If you rushed him, you could maybe get a strike in, but he knew exactly where you were. He wouldn’t stand still if he feared a rush by you would be able to hit him.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>A sudden crunch to your left made you swirl around, but just as you finished, another thud resounded from your right.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Just when you didn’t know where to look, he spoke again. “It must be difficult to be completely blind in the dark. Let me help you.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>And with that, a sudden light source appeared, your shabby lantern sitting neatly in the hands of a remarkably gorgeous man. Black hair that covered his face to his lower back, with sharp features and soft smiles. A strange symbol on his forehead was his most striking feature, though you had to conclude that wasn’t true when the edges of his human side came into view.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>His human half was a few feet higher than you, yet if the feeling that those two thuds had been his front legs was correct, not only were you completely trapped, you were completely outmatched. He was much larger than you’d anticipated, and with your comparatively dinky sword, you might only be able to chop off a leg if you were lucky.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>A soft, patronizing smile was sent your way, his fingers toying with the lantern as he held it up. “Have you given up? That’s remarkably fast.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I.. I think I should’ve come here with a group.” You choked out.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“It wouldn’t have really mattered, so don’t take it too harshly.” He cooed, his front legs softly moving your way, the clattering of bones around you making you hyper-aware of the movements.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It didn’t matter.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>You didn’t even resist as the two appendages clasped themselves around your body, even dropping the sword. Being lifted up in the air, toward the human part of the drider, you wondered if anyone had ever felt such a mix of fear and relief at the same time. The pain scared you. Death didn’t. “Don’t worry too much, you’ve come at quite an opportune time, I don’t think I’ll kill you.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“You don’t have to keep up the act.” You mumbled, exhaling softly as his human part came closer. He’d bite you and you’d be wrapped up in webbing, like the ones on your way here, liquefying till you were ready for him to feast upon. Circle of life and all. “Can you kill me in one go, please?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>His human half was beautiful, and there were worse sights to die to, though as your eyes wandered downward, to the edge of where the light of your lantern still reached, the large black appendages and horrifying characteristics of a spider still filled you with instinctual fear. You tried to keep your eyes up, trying to focus on his soft eyes, which were a far kinder sight.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Oh~ giving up so easily.” His teeth came closer to your neck, and you just hoped the dose would be lethal. “You must’ve been tired.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>You had been. You were. Now in the hands of a drider, a cold draft chilling you through your bones, you tried to remember why you were here in the first place. Your best friend was probably already dead, the months without word not exactly comforting you, and the beast you needed to slay to save them seemed more amused than actually scared of your sword.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It was hard not to feel exhausted when it had been two years of only disappointment and hardship, only to end up with the realization that the task you’d set out to achieve had been impossible from the beginning.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>You were pushed so close to him, his face mere inches away from yours, and you closed your eyes. Moments later, his teeth grazed your skin, and you shivered, feeling his jet black har tickle your face. “They call it the eternal slumber, don’t they?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“That they do. “ To your surprise, his teeth didn’t immediately sink in, his lips instead pressing down a soft kiss to your jugular, before finally biting down. He chuckled as you winced, and nuzzled against the wound when your body went limp, your mind blurring and your eyesight faltering. “Don’t be too surprised when you wake up.”</p>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Razor x Reader</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p></p><div class="">
  <p></p>
  <div class="">
    <p>Its hair was like yours on a good day, its skin identical even to the last little birthmark, your own eyes staring back at you as you continued examining the being. It was odd looking at your own body like this, especially considering you only ever saw your body in mirror view. To see and recognize this thing as yourself was wildly disorienting.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>You lifted its (Her? <em>Your?)</em> hand, it remaining unresponsive as you trailed the birthmarks and scars on its skin, only looking back at you with empty eyes. You put your own hand against it, comparing hand sizes, the thing still not responding even when you noted that there were no differences and had retracted your hand.  </p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>Your biggest question currently was why it was here, though you could see exactly what it had been used for, the stains and smell of the room unmistakeable. You’d went to your boss’ quarters to pick him up, some people having activated the Patch of Shore event, yet when you opened his bedroom after hearing some noise, this had looked back.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>There had been many things you’d expected, but a copy of yourself, laying sprawled atop the bed wearing skimpy lingerie, <em>wasn’t it</em>.</p>
  </div>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Do you have any dialogue?” You asked, already fearing the response. It raised its head slightly, blinking once before replying.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“What would you like to hear?” Oh god. Did you really sound like that?</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>You didn’t want to hear anything more, but at the same time curiosity was getting the better of you, and you simply couldn’t walk out here without knowing what Razor did to this clone of yours. Maybe it wasn’t so bad, maybe you were merely misunderstanding the use of a lifelike clone… of yours… in his bedroom. Maybe. “What do you usually say?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Whatever <em>boss</em> wants to hear~” It sing-songed, breaking its relative placid facial expression to seem absolutely ecstatic, eyes twinkling and lips slightly parted, pushing its shoulders together to push its chest forward. The way it pronounced ‘boss’ made your eyebrows rise to the ceiling, the word nearly purred. Was this what he wanted you to do? Did your boss really get off to this? <em>To you?</em></p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Dear god.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>You closed your eyes and steadied your breathing for a good second, your mind blanking on whatever you could even do. You definitely needed to tell him, but if you left now and told Razor, he’d probably remove it, and you could never figure out what he’d actually done to it. What if it was really fucked up? Did you want to know? “When is the last time…” You trailed off, hoping the clone was advanced enough to be able to understand. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It tilted its head and smiled encouragingly. “I don’t understand?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“You know…” This was a clone, you should ask directly, yet you couldn’t say it aloud.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Do you mean to ask when <em>boss </em>has last visited me?” Again the purr, the tone of it nearly nauseating with how sexual it sounded when spoken by the clone. “I do my best to relief his stress every morning and evening~”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>What fucking <em>stress?</em> Razor trained and hung around the gym all day, sending the pirates away for anything that he deemed unimportant. The players that visited today had been an exception, the last time being near months ago. You guessed handling the emissive systems could be stressful, but if he had time to create a lifelike clone of yours, he shouldn’t exactly be steering towards a burn-out.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Working for Greed Island had strict rules, but apart from that, working here was fine and <em>slow</em>. Most days you just wandered around the island or trained with the others. Nights were spent playing cards and other games. You’d come to know the rest quite a bit, even your boss, talking away countless of nights with a drink in your hand.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It was no secret Razor favoured you a bit over the others, but you’d always interpreted that as meaning he just found you easier company among the other ex-cons, though that got a whole new meaning with all this. Even after many days of training and nights of talking, you would’ve never predicted him to actually <em>like</em> you outside of the employee-employer relationship.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Deciding you couldn’t listen to even one more word of this… thing, you turned around and shut the door behind you. You decided this would probably best be discussed one on one, if you ever overcame the anxiety of having to ask your boss why he owned a literal sex-doll version of you. A necessary conversation nonetheless.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>One you only saw an opening for a week later, when he was just reading in the corner of the gym. It wasn’t often he was completely alone, often socializing with a few members of the crew or training with them.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Uhmm Boss? Can I talk to you for a bit?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Sure!” He turned to you with a large grin on his face and put the book down, and as soon as he did so, Kiki walked in, carrying her baseball bat, intending to probably train in the gym. You cursed her for coming here <em>now</em>, having wanted to have the conversation a bit more private than this. Razor slowly followed your gaze as you nervously looked at Kiki’s entrance.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“It is a bit sensitive, I’m afraid.” You eventually said.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“What could that be then?” He pondered, though he nodded and motioned for a side-room that was supposed to function as an office when you didn’t respond. No one ever sat there, so it was usually used for storage and in-door smoking. Kiki shot you a questioning glance as you followed the boss to the side-room and you waved your hand as a response, trying to convey that you were fine.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>One-on-one conversations with the boss usually meant you’d done something wrong, which was never a pleasant thing to experience. He was laid-back and reasonable, but wasn’t known for being easy whenever he deemed a mistake too severe.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Closing the door behind you, you waited till he sat down, you yourself still standing. You didn’t want to sit down, wanting the possibility of walking out to remain in your grasp. Your attitude propably seemed strange to him, especially considering your usual more easy-going nature, but beside a small furrow in his brows, he didn’t comment on it.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Uhmm, well. You see. I don’t really know how to say this…” You started. “Do you remember last week when the Patch of Shore event was started?” He nodded, curious to see where this was going. “Uhh, well, I wasn’t there and there was a reason for that.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Did you do something stupid? I noticed your absence, but we had enough players so it didn’t matter.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“No? No, I don’t think I did something stupid.” Or did you? This all felt very stupid. You could barely get the words to come out of your mouth. <em>‘I found your clone of me’, ‘I found your clone of me’, ‘I found your clone of me</em>’. Why was it so hard to say?! “Well.. when they arrived, nobody could find you.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Razor hummed in confirmation and you continued talking, looking anywhere but at him, which was hard in the tiny room. He <em>must</em> know what this was about now, wouldn’t he? What else could you tell him that would shake you up so? He didn’t seem nervous or caught already, so maybe he really didn’t realize? “Uhmm… I was told to check your house.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>And there it was, a flash of realization.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Oh.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Yeah, uhm… .”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“That’s embarrassing!” He laughed, and you made eye-contact for the first time since you entered the side-room, your confusion with his reaction palpable. You’d expected him to be embarrassed or apologetic, not <em>amused</em>. “That must’ve been weird to encounter.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>‘Yes, boss. It’s kind of weird to know that you use a clone of me as a sex-doll.’</em>
  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Listen. Well, I- I don’t care what you do in your free-time, but I would appreciate it if my… likeness wasn’t a part of that.” That sounded diplomatic right? Reasonable.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I’ll keep it in mind.” He said, noncommittally, not seeming guilty even in the slightest sense of the word. It wasn’t an <em>‘I’ll immediately delete it’ </em>like you had expected. You didn’t exactly know what to do right now. Where you supposed to make a bigger issue of it? It felt like a bigger issue. “Well. Was that all? You surely must have better things to do.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Uhh, yeah sure.” You replied, wanting this conversation over as quickly as possible. Before you could turn around to twist the door knob and leave to scream into the nearest pillow, Razor lifted his hand.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Oh, one more thing.” You turned back, making painstakingly difficult eye-contact. His smile widened as you noticeably shrunk a little when his aura flared up a little bit. “Don’t tell the others, would you?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“No, of course.” He apparently didn’t find your words convincing enough, his aura not relenting in intensity. The pressure alone made you nearly fall to the ground. You gathered your voice and talked a bit louder. “I know. I won’t tell anyone.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“That’s good.” You could feel your blood pressure spike through the roof as he stood up from his chair, towering over you. Razor walked over to the door you stood in front of and before you could step back to let him through, he put his hand on your lower back, the touch sending spikes of heat through your entire body. “And don’t be a stranger if you ever get curious, y/n.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Right…”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>You moved to open the door, but he stopped you by balling your shirt in his fist. You turned around in surprise, swallowing down your anxiety when you noticed that he was <em>so close</em>, his chest nearly covering your entire field of sight. He lifted an eyebrow and you suddenly knew exactly what he was waiting for.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“-.. <em>boss</em>.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Letting out an amused chuckle, he let go of you and opened the door, letting you walk out in front of him.</p>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Barbarian! Uvo x Reader</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p></p><div class="">
  <p>“Where’s that barmaid from the tavern we visited? The... The Leaking Barrel or something?” The voice resounded through the yard, the owner impossible to miss as he walked through the streets carrying a bloodied axe. Surrounded by his generals, he still towered over them, creating an image in the villager's minds they wouldn’t ever forget. “If any of you idiots killed them, I’ll kill you.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The generals, who’d seemed so incredibly dangerous when taking over the town, all swallowed and responded with assurances that they hadn’t. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>That only seemed to further disgruntle the man in charge, <em>Uvogin</em>.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Wild hair matted with blood, a bare upper body that had seen more battles than butchers had seen meat and a few scraps of armor and leather clothing protecting his lower body. Despite his rather barbaric appearance, he carried himself with an authority that was undeniable. The fully-armored generals surrounding the man seemed to be little more than cannon-fodder when in his presence.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He was a <em>warlord</em>, alright.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Not one person in the village had ever seen one before, which was quite normal since there were but a few in the world. In total there were three warlords, two to rule the land and one to rule the sea. They were machines of war in service to the King of Spiders, a man that had started an empire mere years ago and was rather quickly overtaking every other nation.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The latest news had been the city of Yorknew being sieged and overtaken, and while that news had worried the elders, Yorknew was far enough away for the villagers to feel a modicum of safety.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It seemed that time of peace was over now. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Scraping the axe over the floor, an action that made the villagers surrounding you flinch, you tried to keep your head down. You saw the daughter of the butcher look at you, her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to figure out why the warlord was searching you.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Not a lot of people outside of tavern regulars knew, but you’d spent some nights working in said Leaking Barrel. You knew the owner and it had been an easy way to get a small bit of spending money since your family automatically confiscated anything you made with your daytime work. You often poured the daughter of the butcher some of the more expensive booze and in return, she saved some of the better meat for you in the morning.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It was fun work: pouring ale and telling stories till the sun would rise again, the occasional bouts of music and laughter filling the air as the night would run its course. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Last weekend had been no different, though at one point several strangers had entered the tavern, and while some regulars had gotten antsy, you’d welcomed the business and greeted them heartily. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Several of the strangers you now realized, had been generals, their neat beards, and clean clothing making them quite recognizable among the rabble. But, despite you recognizing them, they weren’t exactly the stranger you were currently most worried about, realization flooding your minds with both embarrassment and shock. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The largest man among the strangers that night, a giant with wild brown hair, imposing sideburns and an enthusiastic laugh, had joined you at the bar after you greeted them and had kept you company throughout the entire evening. He’d told you he was a traveler, and his stories of faraway places had been the most exciting you’d heard in a while.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Said feat wasn’t hard, as the usual stories were about the cheating miller and the boy that lived near the creek who’d caught a big fish.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Now you realized the troops had probably already been nearby and they had only visited to have some fun before the attack or to scope out the surroundings. Strangers were rare in these parts and well-dressed ones like these with deep pockets should’ve aroused your suspicion. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>But It wasn’t often you experienced anything exciting, so you’d latched onto the experience, trying your best to amuse him with your own stories and jokes, and pouring enough ale for him to have a good time. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>A good time that had eventually led to him fucking you against the back of the tavern, the other customers long forgotten and your only priority being to keep up with him. Despite the rather messy way it had all happened, it had been fun and lighthearted and you’d kissed him like you never would kiss another. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It was hard to think that man who’d laughed so freely with you that night was the same man as the warlord with the bleeding axe barking orders at highborn generals and soldiers alike, threatening to kill your entire village for supplying grain to the rival nation of Rokario. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Most of the villagers had been ushered into the square, but every single one that had opposed him had been mercilessly beheaded or gutted, filling the normally busy streets with entrails instead of business. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>With the giddy laughs that had accompanied said killing, the same laugh you’d heard plenty of while telling him jokes, you didn’t think the warlord was especially concerned with the lives of your fellow townspeople.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“No, no, no. That’s not <em>them</em>.” He said, his eyebrows furrowed as he looked at the usual barmaid of the Leaking Barrel, a sweet girl with curly black hair. Nevertheless, he looked down at the quivering girl and asked her. “Last weekend. Where is the barmaid who worked then?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The girl, whose body was stiff with fear, looked around the square, about two hundred people crouching down as per the warlords' requests. “They should be here...”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Aha, what’s their name?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>You suddenly realized why this was taking so long, and felt a mix of annoyance and relief. <em>He’d forgotten your name</em>. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>While you’d told him yours during that night, he’d been rather secretive with his own, wiggling his eyebrows in a teasing manner at you whenever you’d try to wring it from him. Now you understood why: the name <em>Uvogin of the Spiders </em>raising alarm bells everywhere in the world. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Despite the small amount of time his lacking memory had earned you, the fact that you would be found soon was without question. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>What would he do once he found you? Had you done or said something wrong that night or was he looking for another go at you? Why couldn’t you have just continued working instead of sneaking outside and messing around with <em>a fucking warlord</em>? </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“It’s.. Y/n.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>And there it was. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Uvogin’s eyes lit up with recognition and the generals seemed pleased that he was showing a different emotion beside blood lust for now. “That was it! I remember now.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>A very eager general stood forward toward the crouching crowd, probably trying to please the warlord beside him, and bellowed. “Bring forth y/n!”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>You felt the eyes around you begin to shift, slowly moving toward you. The woman next to you, someone you only knew as the cheating miller’s wife, shot up with a bit too much enthusiasm. “They’re here!”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Uvogin laughed victoriously and walked briskly through the crowd to the place where you now awkwardly stood, having foregone looking down as it wouldn’t do you much good anymore. As the warlord reached you, you didn’t know whether to feel nervous, terrified, or exasperated as the familiar enthusiastic smile lit up the man’s face. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“There you are!” You tried to say something, or at least explain to your gawking fellow villagers why the warlord who was threatening to kill them all was acting so familiar with you, but before you could adequately make a noise, you were lifted up and thrown over the giant's shoulder. “You sure like making me work for it, y/n, did you not recognize me like this?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Again, you wanted to speak, but before you could answer, Uvogin already started giving new orders to his generals. “Okay, I got what I came for. Take whatever’s valuable and burn the rest down.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The eager general perked up. “And the townspeople?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Uvogin shrugged, a motion that bounced your body slightly, and went along his way, his large hands stroking down your back while you made eye-contact with your neighbors and family, all of them looking terrified.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“They’re all weaklings, dig a pit and wait for me to come back.”</p>
</div>
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